Japanese chaff-flower

Achyranthes bidentata Blume var. japonica Miquel, Ann. Mus. Bot. Lugduno-Batavi 2: 132. 1865

Plants perennial. Stems 0.75-1.5 m, glabrous or slightly pubescent. Leaf blades ovate-elliptic, 2.5-13.5 × 0.2-6.8 cm, base tapering, apex acute to acuminate, pubescent on veins abaxially, short-pubescent adaxially, varying to glabrous or glabrescent. Inflorescences 2-4 cm in flower, elongating to 21 cm in fruit; bracteoles spinose; basal wings attached at base and sometimes slightly on sides. Flowers: tepals 5, 4-5 mm; pseudostaminodes with margins entire, denticulate, or slightly 2-lobed at apex. Utricles elliptic, 2.5 mm.

Flowering summer. Wooded riverbanks; 100-200 m; introduced; Ky., Ohio, W.Va.; Asia.

The plants of Achyranthes japonica in our area evidently belong to var. hachijoensis Honda, which has glabrous or glabrescent leaves.

SELECTED REFERENCE

Medley, M. E., H. Bryan, J. MacGregor, and J. W. Thieret. 1985. Achyranthes japonica (Miq.) Nakai (Amaranthaceae) in Kentucky and West Virginia: New to North America. Sida 11: 92-95.