Axyris amaranthoides

Axyris amaranthoides

Axyris amaranthoides is an introduced species in North America. It was introduced into Manitoba in 1886 and has since spread to other provinces in Canada and the United States (Blackwell, 1978).

Scientific classification

Kingdom	Plantae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta
Division	Magnoliophyta
Class	Magnoliopsida
Subclass	Caryophyllidae
Order	Caryophyllales
Family	Amaranthaceae
Genus	Axyris L.
Species	Axyris amaranthoides L.

Naming and placement

Axyris amaranthoides (2n=18) is commonly known as Russian pigweed and upright axyris (Blackwell, 1978). The Chinese name is Zhouli (轴藜).

Physical Description

Axyris amaranthoides is an annual monoecious (has both the male and female flowers in the same individual) plant. It has a taproot type of root system, and its stem is about 20 to 80 cm tall and rigidly upright. The lower leaves have short petioles and are narrow oval long-pointed shape. The upper leaves are narrowly lance-like to egg shaped, and attached directly to the stems or branches without petioles. The leaves on the main stems are much bigger than branch leaves, but all the leaves are serrated with slightly bent or curved backward or downward edges. A single leaf is present at each node along the stem, forming an ascending spiral pattern (alternate arrangement). Male flowers grow on the top of stem and branches in the form of slim spike. One or two female flowers grow from the leaf axils and below the male flowers. Fruits are oval shaped, reddish colored and dry (i.e., with thin pericarps). Some fruits are winged on one side and flattened, and will germinate rapidly. Other fruits are wingless, and tend to be dormant (Britton and Brown, 1970 and IAEARNC, 2011). The flowering time is in July and August (Blackwell, 1978).

Habitat

Generally, Axyris amaranthoides grows well on very fine-grained mineral soil and soils that are made up of waste or rough fragments of stone, brick, and concrete (Blackwell, 1978). They can be found in dry roadsides and waste places in a large area of flat unforested grassland (Scoggan, 1978).

Range

Country	Regions
China	Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Monggol, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Xinjiang
Siberia	Russian Federation - Eastern Siberia, Western Siberia
Mongolia	Mongolia
Russian Far East	Russian Federation - Far East
Eastern Asia	Japan; Korea
Middle Asia	Kazakhstan
East Europe	Southeast European

Axyris amaranthoides is naturalized from Russia or Siberia (Scoggan, 1978). It is distributed in the most parts of Canada and north part of the United States. It spread in several provinces in Canada, including British Columbia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Saskatchewan and Ontario Axyris amaranthoides also can be found in some regions of Asia and Europe(USDA, 2011).

Importance to Humans

Axyris amaranthoides is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. It has several functions, such as clearing the liver and improving vision, relieving rheumatic pains, treating decayed teeth, relieving swelling and preventing high blood pressure (Subject Database of China Plant, 2011). Like many wind-pollinated plants, Axyris amaranthoides ’s pollen can cause allergic respiratory diseases (Weber and Nelson, 1985).

Importance to Ecosystem

The abundance of Axyris amaranthoides shows that it spread aggressively to many regions rather than staying in one place so that it was considered as an invasive species that had negative influences in North Dakota (Blackwell, 1978). In addition, Axyris amaranthoides has potential seed contamination. Axyris amaranthoides is an invasive plant which can cause large infestation of cereal crops (Blackwell, 1978).

Conservation

The conservation status of Axyris amaranthoides is not listed in Canada or the United States, probably because it is an invasive species and the two countries have programs in place to control its spread (COSEWIC, 2011 and USDA, 2011).

References

Axyris amaranthoides. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct5/index_e.cfm

Axyris amaranthoides. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt

Blackwell, W. 1978. History of Russian pigweed, Axyris-amaranthoides (Chenopodiaceae, Atripliceae), in North-America. Weed Sci. 26(1): 82-84.

Britton, N. and Brown, H. 1970. An illustrated flora of the Northern United States and Canada, Volume 2. Dover Publications Inc., New York, U.S.A.

Interactive Agricultural Ecological Atlas of Russia and Neighboring Countries. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.agroatlas.ru/en/content/weeds/Axyris_amaranthoides/

Scoggan, H. 1978. The Flora of Canada, Part 3. National Museums of Canada.

Subject Database of China Plant. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.plant.csdb.cn/taxonpage?sname=Axyris%20amaranthoides

United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved October 20, 2011, from http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?311099

Weber, R., and Nelson, H. 1985. Pollen allergens and their interrelationships. Clinical Reviews in Allergy and Immunology. 3(3): 291-318.

External links