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Amaranthaceae family

Brown's Amaranth Amaranthus brownii

Native

Brown's Amaranth is an annual wildflower native to Hawaii.

More about this plant

Amaranthus brownii was an annual herb in the family Amaranthaceae. The plant was found only on the small island of Nīhoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, growing on rocky outcrops at altitudes of 120–215 m (394–705 ft). It was one of nine species of Amaranthus in the Hawaiian Islands, as well as the only endemic Hawaiian species of the genus. It is now considered extinct. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Annual
In the garden
Herb layer — Sits in the herb of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~29 caterpillar species

Amaranthus supports ~29 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Amaranthus in North America, including:

Achyra similalis · snout moth Agrotis ipsilon · Dark Sword-Grass Agrotis subterranea · owlet moth Amyna octo · owlet moth Anacamptodes fragilaria · geometer (inchworm) moth Coleophora amaranthella · casebearer moth
+ 8 more species →
Coleophora lineapulvella · casebearer moth Dicymolomia julianalis · Julia's Dicymolomia Discestra trifolii · owlet moth Disclisioprocta stellata · Somber Carpet Epiblema otiosana · Bidens Borer Erynnis martialis · Mottled Duskywing Estigmene acrea · Salt Marsh Moth Helicoverpa zea · Corn Earworm
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (11) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Federal ESA status — USFWS ECOS (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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