Japanese name: ハリビユ（針莧） Scientific name:Amaranthus spinosus
[Overview]
An annual about 1 m tall, found on wasteland.
The stem is branched and ridged.
Leaves are simple and alternate, rhombic-elliptic, 3–8 cm long and 1.5–5.5 cm wide, with entire margins.
The leaf tip is notched and has a spiny awn.
The petioles are long, and at the base of each petiole there are 2 hard, straight spines 0.5–2 cm long.
The inflorescences arise from the leaf axils; in the lower part of the stem they are globose, and in the upper part they form long spikes.
The flowers are male or female, both 5-petaled, with bracts that taper to a spiny point.
The petals of the female flowers also end in a short spine.
The fruit is a utricle.
[History]
It arrived in Japan during the Meiji period and has become naturalized in the Kanto region and areas to the south.
