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Family: Amaranthaceae
Khaki burrweed, more...Khaki joyweed, Khaki weed (so: Carabonadh, Qudha, Qudha-ingiriisi)
[Alternanthera repens J.F.Gmel.] |
C.C. Townsend (1993) Amaranthaceae. Flora of Somalia 1: 140-167 Plants prostrate perennials, with stout vertical rootstocks; stems rooting at the lower nodes, highly branched from the base upwards and forming mats up to 1 m across, stems and branches at first densely villous with long white hairs, later glabrescent. Leaves broadly rhomboid-ovate to obovate, 1.5-4.5 cm long, 0.3-2.7 cm wide, glabrous or sparsely appressed-hairy, bases attenuate, tips rounded or subacute, frequently with a bristle-like mucro. Inflorescences sessile. usually in clusters of 2-3, 0.5-1.5 cm long and 0,5-1 cm wide, globose to shotly cylindrical. Tepals with tufts of glochidiate, barbellate hairs, otherwise extremely dissimilar, the outer 2 deltoid-lanceolate, about 5 mm long, each with a spiny awn, inner tepals oblong, flat, about 3 mm long, tips strongly dentate, each with a short, fine mucro, lateral tepals about 2 mm long, sinuate in lateral view, the 2 sides connivent; stamens 5, all with anthers, pseudostaminodes broad and quadrate or shorter, entire to dentate; styles as wide as or wider than long. Fruits roundish, about 2 mm in diameter, tips rounded to retuse.. Alternanthera pungens is a weed of sandy waste and arable land, often where trodden. It grows at 150-1310 m and is known from regions N1, C2, S1, and S3 of the Flora of Somalia. It is native to tropical America but is now common in tropical and subtropical areas. Awale & Jama (2018). Hordhaca dhirta badhtamaha Soomaalilaand. Gu’yaal jire isku siman oo ah illaa 20 cm. Dhulka ku goglan, oo gas leh. Caleemo si iskasoo horjeed ah iskugu beegan, oo qaabka ugxanta ah, oo hareeraha ka siman. Ubax ka baxay ruqurta caleenta oo ay ku haareeraysan yihiin gas qodxo ah. Midho leh dahaadh wareegsan. Sabo: Dhul cagta lagu badiyey ee u dhaw meelaha la deggen yahay, joog ah illaa 300 m. Filiqsanaanta: Asal ahaan Waqooyiga Maraykanka, imikana Kulaale-xigeennada. Plants prostrate mat-forming perennial herbs, mats up to 1 m across, with stout vertical rootstocks, much-branched from the base, also rooting at the lower nodes. Stems and branches terete, striate, ± densely villous with long, white hairs but frequently glabrescent. Leaves petiolate; petioles to 1 cm long; blades broadly rhomboid-ovate to broadly oval or obovate, 1.5-4.5 cm long, 0.3-2.7 cm wide, bases narrowed to the petioles, tips rounded to subacute with a mucro which in the young leaves is often fine and bristle-like, glabrous or thinly appressed-pilose on both surfaces, especially on the lower surface of the primary venation. Inflorescences sessile, axillary, solitary or more commonly 2-3 together, globose to shortly cylindrical, 0.5-1.5 cm long and 0.5-1 cm wide; bracts membranous, white or stramineous, 4-5 mm long, lanceolate-ovate, glabrous or dorsally pilose, distinctly aristate with the excurrent midrib, margins strongly denticulate distally; bracteoles similar but smaller, 3-4 mm long, falling with the fruit. Tepals extremely dissimilar, the 2 outer (abaxial) deltoid-lanceolate, 5 mm, very rigid, 5-nerved below (the intermediate pair of veins much shorter and finer), outer 2 nerves meeting above to join the excurrent, pungently mucronate midrib; inner (adaxial) tepal oblong, flat, 3 mm, blunt and strongly dentate at the apex, 3-veined below but the veins meeting well below the apex and the apical mucro short and fine; lateral tepals c. 3 mm, sinuate in side view with the two sides of the lamina connivent and denticulate above, sharply mucronate; abaxial and adaxial tepals with small tufts of glochidiate and barbed whitish bristles about the basal angles, the lateral tepals each with a large tuft about the centre of the midrib; stamens 5, all with anthers, at anthesis slightly exceeding the ovary and style, the alternating pseudostaminodes broad, subquadrate, shorter than the filaments, entire to dentate; ovaries compressed, squat, narrowed below, styles very short, wider than long. Fruits orbicular, rounded or retuse above, 2 mm; seeds discoid, c. 1.25 m, brown, shining faintly reticulate. Primary source: Weeds of Australia. Habitats. Disturbed sites, bare areas, roadsides, parks, lawns, waste areas, watercourses, orchards and may estend into native pastures and grasslands. Problems. Can injure people and livestock, contaminate crops, and devalue wool. Suspected of poisoning sheep and pigs and causing digestive problems and skin ailments in cattle. Caues staggers in horses. Reproduction: Mainly be seed but stem segments can become established. Control. Hoeing before seed production. Chemicals. 2, 4-D amine 625 g/L; Glyphosate 360 g/L; MCPA 340 g/L + Dicamba 80 g/L.
Plants of the World Online (POWO): Alternanthera pungens. The distribution map shows the countries where the taxon is considered native or introduced but is now growing in the wild. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF): Alternanthera pungens. Records may be of cultivated specimens. |