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Amaranthaceae family

African Amaranth Amaranthus muricatus

African Amaranth is an introduced perennial herb, found in the lower 48 states.

More about this plant

Amaranthus muricatus, the so-called African amaranth, is a species in the genus Amaranthus native to South America; Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. It is an invasive species in Africa, Europe and Australia, and to a lesser degree in North America and Asia. It is a decumbent perennial that does well in arid climates. Wikipedia →

⚠ Invasive here — plant a native instead USDA + GBIF

African Amaranth is flagged invasive in the U.S. These natives fill a similar niche — same growth habit, bloom season, height, and region — so you keep the look and feed local wildlife instead of spreading a problem.

Common Milkweed
Native ★
Common Milkweed
Asclepias syriaca
●●●●●
Swamp Milkweed
Native ★
Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias incarnata
●●●●●
Butterfly Weed
Native ★
Butterfly Weed
Asclepias tuberosa
●●●●●
New England Aster
Native ★
New England Aster
Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
●●●●●
Matched on growth habit · bloom months · mature height · shared U.S. range (USDA + GBIF) — a starting point, not a prescription.

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 9 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
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 (13) 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 — US-RIIS v2.0 (USGS)
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[12] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[13] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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