Amaranthus spinosus

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Photographs by: Dr. Maulik Gadani

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  • Botanical Name : Amaranthus spinosus L.
  • Common Name : Kantalo - Dhimdo, Kantalo - Dambho, Prickly Amaranth, Thorny Amaranth
  • Plant Family : Amaranthaceae
  • Plant Form : Herb
  • Occurrence (Sectors) : 1, 2, 9, 10, 17, 22, 26, 27, 29, 30
  • Occurrence (Special Areas) : Indroda Park, Sarita Udyan, Van Chetana Kendra

About Amaranthus spinosus Plant :

  • Habit : Erect or procumbent, perennial herbs, 50 - 125cm tall.
  • Stem : Stem and branches thickened at the nodes, occasionally rooting from basal nodes, simple or branched, terete and grooved, yellowish-green to reddish, glabrous, with axillary divaricate pale - brown spines which are 1.5 - 2.5 cm long.
  • Leaves : Long - petioled, alternate, broadly ovate - rhomboid, oblong or elliptic, obtuse, subacute or emarginated at apex, narrowed or decurrent at base, entire or minutely serrulate along the margins, undulate, glabrous, petioles 1 - 5 cm long.
  • Inflorescence : Panicles
  • Flowers : Small, about 1 mm greenish or greenish - white, in dense globose, axillary clusters upto 15 cm long, branched or unbranched, forming a panicle, unisexual, females usually clustered in axils, bracts linear, setaceus, bristle - tipped.Perianths of male acuminate; of females oblong, obtuse, apiculate. Stamens 5, styles 2, pubescent, stigmas 2.
  • Fruit : Utricles 1.5 - 2 mm long, membranous ovoid or oblong, 2 - 3 lobed and thickened at apex.
  • Seeds : 0.5 mm in diameter, black or brownish - red, with thin margin outside.
  • Flowering and Fruiting time : July to May
  • Significance :
    • It is used as a pot - herb.
    • Boiled with pulses, it is also fed to cattle to increase the yield of milk.
    • The root is used for the treatment of bronchitis, asthma and skin - diseases and for poisonous stings.
    • Leaves are used as poultice.