Goosefoots, Amaranths & Allies
What are they?
The goosefoots and amaranths form two closely-related families, which some modern taxonomists now place into a single family, the Chenopodiaceae. They are perhaps best characterized by having small, non-descript, usually greenish flowers which can be tough to identify to species and for this reason are often not covered by flower books with a limit on space.
Where are they found?
These plants fall mostly into two groups - those typical of saline habitats and covered under the general term of saltbushes, and those that are invasive weeds of gardens and farmland. The majority of these species have spread around the world as introduced aliens and their distribution can change rapidly, making identification even more difficult!
Identification
Though some species, especially the goosefoots, can be identified by their leaves, many species need to be identified by their seeds or fruiting structures, making it difficult to identify them until late in the year (September onwards).
Winged Pigweed Cycloloma atriplicifolium
A fairly common plant that forms tight, well-branched clumps of green stems on the drier, upper parts of sandy beaches and dunes. Flowers June to September.
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winged seed pod |
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Mexican-tea Dysphania ambrosioides
A quite common adventive weed of disturbed ground, introduced from Central and South America. Commonly found growing in hot, dry conditions on old work sites, dredging impoundments and other waste sites. Easily told by its smell as the whole plant has a strong scent of bleach. Flowers July to October.
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Jerusalem-oak Dysphania botrys
Introduced from Europe. May possibly be found as a weed of back yards and waste places; currently known from the north of the county. Flowers July to October. Usually a low-growing plant which trails across the ground.
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Oak-leaved Goosefoot Chenopodium glaucum
Introduced from Europe. Probably not fully established in the region, but found as a garden weed at Cape May in 2011 and may occur in similar situations elsewhere from time to time. Flowers late July to October. Leaves hairless with a slight bluish bloom.
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Desert Goosefoot Chenopodium pratericola
Introduced from further west in North America and now established in sandy, coastal areas. Flowers late August to October. Leaves typically narrow and with just three veins.
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Fat-hen Chenopodium album
(Lambsquarters) Introduced from Europe and now an abundant weed throughout much of North America in yards, roadsides and all kinds of disturbed ground. Flowers July to October.
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Hairy Smotherweed Bassia hirsuta
Introduced from Central Asia. Frequent in muddy, saline soils, disturbed areas around boatyards, dredging impoundments and similar habitats. Flowers July to August.
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zigzag growth |
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Summer-cypress Bassia scoparia
Introduced from Central Asia. Common and often the dominant vegetation in coastal waste places such as dredging impoundments, disturbed saltmarsh edge and similar areas. Flowers July to September.
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Spear-leaved Orache Atriplex prostrata
Some books describe this as a native species, but Flora of North America considers it as introduced from Europe. Naturally occurs in brackish, coastal conditions, especially on disturbed ground around marinas and along the edges of coast roads. Has also spread inland as a weed of rough and waste ground. Usually low and spreading but will grow more upright in denser vegetation. Flowers July to September.
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triangular |
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Crested Orache Atriplex mucronata
(Crested Saltbush) A common coastal species on dunes, beaches and saltmarshes throughout coastal Eastern North America. Flowers July to September.
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American Perennial Glasswort Sarcocornia pacifica
Common in coastal saltmarshes and other saline to brackish habitats. Flowers July to October. Note that in many flower books, this species is listed as Salicornia virginica, a non-woody annual species. The prostrate, woody stems creep horizontally across the ground and send up vertical, unbranched shoots that produce flowers in late summer. As the only perennial glasswort in our saltmarshes, this species is the only one likely to be found during the winter or spring.
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typical shoot |
Virginia Glasswort Salicornia virginica
Common to abundant in coastal saltmarshes and other saline to brackish habitats. Flowers July to October. Note that in many flower books, this species is listed as Salicornia depressa while Salicornia virginica is wrongly applied to Sarcocornia pacifica, a woody perennial species. This highly variable species forms extensive mats of vegetation on saltmarsh pans and is most readily noticed when it turns bright red in Fall.
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typical shoot |
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Dwarf Glasswort Salicornia bigelovii
Common in coastal saltmarshes and other saline to brackish habitats. Flowers July to October. Generally a smaller, less branched plant than Virginia Glasswort. The scale-like, overlapping leaves on the fleshy stems are distinctly pointed at the tip.
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Annual Sea-blite Suaeda maritima
A scarce plant of disturbed areas in saline habitats. Usually considered to be introduced from Europe, but some authorities consider North American plants to be a mixture of both native and introduced plants. Flowers July to October. Leaves are fleshy and cylindrical. The succulent sepals are not strongly keeled, giving a more evenly rounded look to the flowers and ripening fruits.
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Tall Sea-blite Suaeda linearis
A common species in saline or brackish, muddy areas. Flowers July to October. Leaves are fleshy, but distinctly flattened on the top side. The succulent sepals are strongly keeled, giving a distinctly five-sided, star-like look to the flowers and ripening fruits.
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Prickly Saltwort Salsola kali
Introduced from Europe and now common on sandy beaches and dunes. Flowers July to October.
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Russian-thistle Salsola tragus
Introduced from Central Asia, Russian-thistle has devastated vast areas of Western North America where it dominates and replaces native vegetation and is well-known as 'tumbleweed'. This species appears to far less of a problem in New Jersey, however, and currently appears to be a scarce plant of dry, coastal areas. Flowers late July to October. NOTE: Key characters from the botanical literature have been used to identify the Cape May plants, but such key characters are inconsistent from book to book, making identification of Salsola species very problematic.
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Saltmarsh Amaranth Amaranthus cannabinus
(Tidalmarsh Amaranth) Local, but an often common plant in brackish tidal waters, especially in the northern half of the county. Flowers August to September. Male and female flowers found on separate plants.
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Palmer's Amaranth Amaranthus palmeri
(Carelessweed) Native to the southwestern USA, but occasionally found as a weed of waste and disturbed places, especially around farmed land. Flowers August to October or later. This species bears male and female flowers on separate plants, but both can readily be told by their long, spiny flower bracts.
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male flowers |
female flowers |
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Green Amaranth Amaranthus hybridus
(Slim Amaranth) Introduced from Central & South America and now an abundant weed of arable and waste ground. Flowers July to October. Despite the English name, the plant can be either green or reddish. A number of very similar species occur in the USA, but so far, none have been noted in Cape May. Where other species occur, careful scrutiny of the flowering bracts and the way in which the seed capsule splits is important. In this species, the capsule splits open neatly, horizontally, across the center.
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lid from seed capsule |
Spiny Amaranth Amaranthus spinosus
Introduced from Central & South America. An uncommon weed of disturbed ground that appears occasionally but usually doesn't persist for long. Flowers July to October. Rather similar to Purple Amaranth but usually with longer flower spikes; best told by the paired spines at the nodes along the stem.
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Purple Amaranth Amaranthus blitum
Introduced from the tropical Americas. Flowers July to October. As a tropical plant, this species doesn't do particularly well this far north, but is an occasional weed of gardens and sheltered sites. In such situations it is often low-growing and spreads horizontally.
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White Pigweed Amaranthus albus
Introduced from further west in North America. A weedy plant of roadsides, disturbed ground and other waste places. Flowers July to October. A bushy, but weak and rather non-descript plant. Leaves are slightly notched at the tip. The whole plant has a rather pale look about it.
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Slender Snakecotton Froelichia gracilis
A plant of the western USA, apparently having spread east via the railroads, where it grows in the dry ballast beside the rail tracks. Occurs sparingly in sandy soil with several sizeable colonies near the dune crossovers in Cape May Point. Flowers July to September. Leaves are woolly beneath.
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seed heads |
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