Taxon:  Amaranthus spinosus L.



Summary
Genus:
Amaranthus
Subgenus:
Amaranthus
Family:
Amaranthaceae
Nomen number:
2804
Place of publication:
Sp. pl. 2:991.  1753
Verified:
03/12/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
25 (24  active, 24  available) in National Plant Germplasm System.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)
Seed

Conservation Status

Reference(s)
  1. University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
  2. PROTABASE, the information base of PROTA (Plant Resources of Tropical Africa) (on-line resource).
  3. Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
  4. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
  5. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
  6. Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
  7. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1985-1992. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials (revised edition).
  8. El-Hadidi, M. N. & M. S. Abdallah. 1980-. Flora of Egypt.
  9. Feuillet, C. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. French common names
  10. FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
  11. Girija, T. & Tabish. Flowers of India (on-line resource).
  12. Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1963. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada.
  13. Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
  14. Greizerstein, E. J. et al. 1997. Karyological studies in five wild species of amaranths. Cytologia 62:115-120. Note: as 2n=34
  15. Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
  16. Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
  17. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
  18. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
  19. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
  20. Lira, R. et al., eds. 2016. Ethnobotany of Mexico Springer, New York, US. 114-115.
  21. Macbride, J. F. et al., eds. 1936-. Flora of Peru Note: 1936-1971; new ser. 1980-
  22. Mansfeld, R. 1959. Die Kulturpflanze, Beiheft 2.
  23. Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
  24. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
  25. Ohwi, J. 1965. Flora of Japan (Engl. ed.).
  26. Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):110.
  27. Pal, M. 1972. Evolution and improvement of cultivated amaranths. III. Amaranthus spinosus - dubius complex. Genetica 43:106-118. Note: meiotic arrangement in triploid hybrids showed mostly 15 or 17 bivalents, with 15 univalents; an examination of backcrosses and hexaploids supported the rejection of Amaranthus spinosus as a parental species of A. dubius
  28. Personal Care Products Council. International Nomenclature Cosmetic Ingredient
  29. Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
  30. Randall, R. P. 2007. The introduced flora of Australia and its weed status.
  31. Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
  32. Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
  33. Reitz, R., ed. 1965-. Flora ilustrada catarinense.
  34. Sauer, J. D. 1967. The grain amaranths and their relatives: a revised taxonomic and geographic survey. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 54:107.
  35. Singh, A. B. & P. Dahiya. 2002. Antigenic and allergenic properties of Amaranthus spinosus pollen - A commonly growing weed in India. Ann. Agric. Environm. Med. 9:147-151.
  36. Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. 1948-. Flora malesiana.
  37. Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:559-902. DOI: 10.1016/j.mb.2016.06.017.
  38. Wiggins, I. L. & D. M. Porter. 1971. Flora of the Galapagos islands.
  39. Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Common names
LanguageNameAlternate namenoteseqCitation
Englishcarelessweed  1Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Englishedlebur  1Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Englishneedlebur  1Girija, T. & Tabish. Flowers of India (on-line resource).
Englishprickly amaranth  1Girija, T. & Tabish. Flowers of India (on-line resource).
Englishprickly calalu  1Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
EnglishPrince-of-Wales-feather  1Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Englishspiny amaranth  1Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
Englishspiny pigweed  1Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Englishthorny amaranth  1FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Englishthorny pigweed  1Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Chineseci xian刺苋 2Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Frenchépinard cochon  2Feuillet, C. 1998. pers. comm. Note: re. French common names
Frenchépinard malabre  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Germandorniger Fuchsschwanz  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
GermanMalabarspinat  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
India (Hindi)kanta chaulai  2Girija, T. & Tabish. Flowers of India (on-line resource).
India (Marathi)kante math  2Girija, T. & Tabish. Flowers of India (on-line resource).
Portuguese (Brazil)bredo-bravo  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)bredo-de-espinho  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)carurú-bravo  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Portuguese (Brazil)carurú-de-espinho  2Groth, D. 2005. pers. comm. Note: re. Brazilian common names
Spanishbledo espinoso  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanishespinaca de Malabar  2Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish (Mexico)quintonil  2Lira, R. et al., eds. 2016. Ethnobotany of Mexico Springer, New York, US. 114-115.
Swedishtaggamarant  2Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNotecitation_id
4Naturalized    widely natzd. weed of tropic, subtropic, & warm-temperate regions0
6Other    probable origin neotropics0
Naturalized (widely natzd. weed of tropic, subtropic, & warm-temperate regions)
Other (probable origin neotropics)

Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Human foodvegetableused like spinachMarkle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Medicinesfolklore McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker. 2000. Herbs of commerce, ed. 2 American Herbal Products Association, Silver Spring, Maryland.
Medicinesfolklore Padua, L. S. de et al., eds. 1999. Medicinal and poisonous plants 1. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 12(1):110.
Medicinesfolklore Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India. 1985-1992. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials and industrial products. Raw materials (revised edition).
Vertebrate poisonsmammalsto humans, source of allergenic airborne pollenSingh, A. B. & P. Dahiya. 2002. Antigenic and allergenic properties of Amaranthus spinosus pollen - A commonly growing weed in India. Ann. Agric. Environm. Med. 9:147-151.
Weedseed contaminantpotentialHolm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=2804. Accessed 14 April 2026.