Taxon: Amaranthus powellii S. Watson

Summary

Genus:

Amaranthus

Subgenus:

Amaranthus

Family:

Amaranthaceae

Nomen number:

315339

Place of publication:

Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 10:347. 1875

Verified:

02/04/2003 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

2 (2 active, 2 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Amaranthus powellii S. Watson subsp. bouchonii (Thell.) Costea & Carretero (7 active accession[s])
Amaranthus powellii S. Watson subsp. powellii (13 active accession[s])
Amaranthus powellii subsp. bouchonii (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Amaranthus bracteosus Uline & W. L. Bray

Images (3 total. Click on image for more.)

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Arianoutsou, M. et al. 2021. Alien plants of Europe: introduction pathways, gateways and time trends. PeerJ 9:e11270. DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11270. Note: listed as an alien, naturalized since the mid 19th Century in central-eastern Europe
Brenner, D. M. 2002. Non-shattering grain amaranth populations. In: Janick, J. & A. Whipkey, Trends in new crops and new uses. Proceedings of the fifth Narional Symposium New Crops and New uses: Strength in diversity 104-106.
Chan, K. F. & M. Sun. 1997. Genetic diversity and relationships detected by isozyme and RAPD analysis of crop and wild species of Amaranthus. Theor. Appl. Genet. 95:865-873.
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1968-1974. The CIBA-GEIGY Weed Tables
Connor, H. E. 1992. The poisonous plants of New Zealand.
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Costea, M. et al. 2001. Preliminary results toward a revision of the Amaranthus hybridus species complex (Amaranthaceae). Sida 19:960-966.
Costea, M. et al. 2004. The biology of Canadian weeds. 130. Amaranthus retroflexus L., A. powellii S. Watson and A. hybridus L. Canad. J. Pl. Sci. 84:631-668.
Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 90.
Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1197.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2 Note: mentions
Greizerstein, E. J. et al. 1997. Karyological studies in five wild species of amaranths. Cytologia 62:115-120. Note: as 2n=34, with karyotype formula of 5m + 2sm + 2st + 1t
Harling, G. & B. Sparre, eds. 1973-. Flora of Ecuador.
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Hitchcock, C. L. et al. 1955-1969. Vascular plants of the Pacific Northwest.
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
Lira, R. et al., eds. 2016. Ethnobotany of Mexico Springer, New York, US. 114-115.
Martin, W. C. & C. R. Hutchins. 1980. A flora of New Mexico.
McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
Sauer, J. D. 1967. The grain amaranths and their relatives: a revised taxonomic and geographic survey. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 54:108.
Scoggan, H. J. 1978-1979. The flora of Canada, 4 vol. Note: = Amaranthus retroflexus var. powellii (S. Watson) B. Boivin
Valdés, B. et al., eds. 2002. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du nord du Maroc, incluant des clés d'identification
Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
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.
Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
Delivering alien invasive species inventories for Europe (DAISIE) (on-line resource).

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	green amaranth		1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	Powell's amaranth		1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	Powell's smooth amaranth		1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English (Canada)	green pigweed	Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada official name	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 90.
French (Canada)	amarante de Powell	Agriculture & Agroalimentaire Canada nom officiel	2	Darbyshire, S. J. 2003. Inventory of Canadian Agricultural Weeds Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. 90.
German	grünähriger Fuchsschwanz		2	Erhardt, W. et al. 2008. Der große Zander: Enzyklopädie der Pflanzennamen 2:1197.
Spanish (Mexico)	quintonil		2	Lira, R. et al., eds. 2016. Ethnobotany of Mexico Springer, New York, US. 114-115.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Oklahoma	McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California (Norte)	Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua	Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango	Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí	Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora	Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas	Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas	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.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	New Mexico	Martin, W. C. & C. R. Hutchins. 1980. A flora of New Mexico.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas	Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo	Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca	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.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla	Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	California	Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Nevada	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Utah	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina	Salta	Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina	San Juan	Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile		Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador		Harling, G. & B. Sparre, eds. 1973-. Flora of Ecuador.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru		Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco		Valdés, B. et al., eds. 2002. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du nord du Maroc, incluant des clés d'identification
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	New South Wales	Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland	Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	South Australia	Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Tasmania	Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Victoria	Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Western Australia	Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand		Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
4	Naturalized	Europe	Eastern Europe	Ukraine		Delivering alien invasive species inventories for Europe (DAISIE) (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Ontario	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Prince Edward Island	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Eastern Canada	Canada	Québec	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Minnesota	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	South Dakota	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maine	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Michigan	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Hampshire	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Vermont	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	West Virginia	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Colorado	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Idaho	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Montana	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Oregon	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Washington	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northwestern U.S.A.	United States	Wyoming	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Kentucky	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Alberta	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	British Columbia	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Western Canada	Canada	Saskatchewan	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.

Native
Northern America

NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Oklahoma]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [New Mexico, Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja California (Norte), Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Guerrero, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla]

Southern America

WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina [Salta, San Juan], Chile

Naturalized
Africa

NORTHERN AFRICA: Morocco

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia]
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Europe

EASTERN EUROPE: Ukraine

Northern America

EASTERN CANADA: Canada [Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec]
WESTERN CANADA: Canada [Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan]
NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, South Dakota, Wisconsin]
NORTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]

Reference(s)

Allan, H. H. B. et al. 1961-. Flora of New Zealand.
Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas
Council of Heads of Australasian Herbaria. Australian plant census (APC) (on-line resource).
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Harling, G. & B. Sparre, eds. 1973-. Flora of Ecuador.
Hickman, J. C., ed. 1993. The Jepson manual: higher plants of California
Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. 2008. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares.
Martin, W. C. & C. R. Hutchins. 1980. A flora of New Mexico.
McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
Sauer, J. D. 1950. The grain amaranths: a survey of their history and classification. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 37:611.
Valdés, B. et al., eds. 2002. Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du nord du Maroc, incluant des clés d'identification
Vibrans, H., ed. Malezas de México (on-line resource).
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.
Delivering alien invasive species inventories for Europe (DAISIE) (on-line resource).

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Human food	vegetable	Lira, R. et al., eds. 2016. Ethnobotany of Mexico Springer, New York, US. 114-115.
Vertebrate poisons	mammals	Connor, H. E. 1992. The poisonous plants of New Zealand.
Weed		Sauer, J. D. 1967. The grain amaranths and their relatives: a revised taxonomic and geographic survey. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 54:108.
Weed		CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. 1968-1974. The CIBA-GEIGY Weed Tables

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=315339. Accessed 14 April 2026.