1. Axyris amaranthoides Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 2: 979. 1753.
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Axyris amaranthoides f. dentata (Baranov) Kitagawa; A. amaranthoides var. dentata Baranov.
Plants 20-80 cm tall. Stems erect, stout, slightly striate; branches mostly borne above middle, slender, 3-13 cm. Leaves shortly petiolate; leaf blade lanceolate, 3-7 × 0.5-1.3 cm, abaxially stellate hairy, later glabrous, base attenuate, margin entire, apex acuminate; veins prominent. Upper leaves and bracts smaller, narrowly lanceolate or narrowly ovate, ca. 10 × 2-3 mm, margin usually involute. Male flowers: perianth segments usually 3, narrowly oblong, abaxially densely stellate pubescent, margin involute, apex acute; stamens 3, exserted. Female flowers: perianth segments 3, membranous, abaxially densely hairy; central segment smaller, oblong; lateral segments broadly ovate, larger, apex entire or slightly emarginate. Utricle gray-black, narrowly ellipsoid or ovoid, compressed, 2-3 mm, sometimes marked with lines, glabrous, with an apical, emarginate, crestlike appendage. Fl. and fr. Aug-Sep.
Grasslands, slopes, sandy places, wastelands, riversides, fields, roadsides. Gansu, Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Xinjiang [Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, S Russia; occasionally introduced in Europe and North America].