Alternanthera

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Amaranthaceae s.l.
Cladus: Amaranthaceae s.str.
Subfamilia: Gomphrenoideae
Genus: Alternanthera

Species: A. adscendens – A. albida – A. albosquarrosa – A. albotomentosa – A. altacruzensis – A. angustifolia – A. aquatica – A. arequipensis – A. areschougii – A. austrotrinidadis – A. axillaris – A. bahiensis – A. bettzickiana – A. brasiliana – A. calcicola – A. cana – A. canescens – A. caracasana – A. cinerella – A. collina – A. congesta – A. cordobensis – A. coriacea – A. corymbiformis – A. costaricensis – A. crassifolia – A. crucis – A. decurrens – A. dendrotricha – A. denticulata – A. dominii – A. echinocephala – A. elongata – A. ficoidea – A. filifolia – A. flava – A. flavescens – A. flavicoma – A. flavida – A. galapagensis – A. geniculata – A. gracilis – A. grandis – A. halimifolia – A. helleri – A. hirtula – A. inaccessa – A. ingramiana – A. januarensis – A. kurtzii – A. laguroides – A. lanceolata – A. littoralis – A. longipes – A. lupulina – A. macbridei – A. malmeana – A. maritima – A. markgrafii – A. martii – A. meyeriana – A. micrantha – A. microphylla – A. minutiflora – A. multicaulis – A. nahui – A. nana – A. nesiotes – A. nodifera – A. nodiflora – A. obovata – A. olivacea – A. paniculata – A. paronychioides – A. pennelliana – A. peruviana – A. philoxeroides – A. piptantha – A. porrigens – A. praelonga – A. puberula – A. pubiflora – A. pulchella – A. pumila – A. pungens – A. pycnantha – A. ramosissima – A. regelii – A. reineckii – A. rufa – A. rugulosa – A. scandens – A. serpens – A. serpyllifolia – A. sessilis – A. snodgrassii – A. spinosa – A. stellata – A. suessenguthii – A. tetramera – A. truxillensis – A. tubulosa – A. vestita – A. villosa
Name

Alternanthera Forssk., Fl. Aegypt.-Arab. 28 (lix). (1775)

Type: Alternanthera achyranthes Forssk. = synonym of Alternanthera sessilis (L.) DC.

Synonyms

Adoceton Raf., Amer. Monthly Mag. & Crit. Rev. 1: 438 (1817)
Adoketon Raf., Mus. N. Sc. 1; New Fl. Am. i. 65 (1836).
Allaganthera Mart., Pl. Hort. Erlang. 69 (1814), nom. superfl.
Amarantesia Regel, Gartenflora 18: 102 (1869)
Type: Amarantesia brasiliensis Regel
Brandesia Mart., Nov. Gen. Sp. Pl. 2: 25 (1826)
Type not designated
Bucholzia Mart., Nov. Gen. Sp. Pl. 2: 49 (1826), nom. illeg. (later homonym of Bucholzia Stadtmann ex Willemet, 1796, Combretaceae)
Type not designated
Everion Raf., Sylva Tellur.: 124 (1838), nom. superfl.
Type: Everion interrupta Raf.
Jeilium Regel, Gartenflora 18: 102 (1869)
Type: Jeilium tricolor hort. ex Regel, Gartenflora (1869) 102.
Mogiphanes Mart., Nov. Gen. Sp. Pl. Bras. 2: 29 (1826)
Type not designated
Steiremis Raf., Fl. Tellur. 3: 40 (1837)
Telanthera R.Br., J.H.Tuckey, Narr. Exped. Zaire: 477 (1818)
Type: Telanthera manillensis Walp.

References
Primary references

Forsskål, P. (†). 1775. Flora Aegyptiaco-Arabica. Sive descriptiones plantarum, quas per Aegyptum inferiorem et Arabiam felicem detexit, illustravit Petrus Forskål. Post mortem auctoris edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Ex officina Mölleri, Hauniae [Copenhagen]. DOI: 10.5962/bhl.title.41 BHL Reference page. : 28 (LIX)

Additional references

Sánchez-del Pino, I., Motley, T.J. & Borsch, T. 2012. Molecular phylogenetics of Alternanthera (Gomphrenoideae, Amaranthaceae): resolving a complex taxonomic history caused by different interpretations of morphological characters in a lineage with C4 and C3–C4 intermediate species. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 169(3): 493–517. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8339.2012.01248.x Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2019. Alternanthera in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Sept. 14. Reference page.
Hassler, M. 2019. Alternanthera. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2019. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2019 Sept. 14. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Alternanthera. Published online. Accessed: Sept. 14 2019.
Tropicos.org 2019. Alternanthera. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 14 Sept. 2019.

Vernacular names
español: Lancetilla
suomi: Kaijalehdet
français: Alternanthère
Alternanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a widespread genus with most species occurring in the tropical Americas,[1][2] and others in Asia, Africa, and Australia.[2] Plants of the genus may be known generally as joyweeds, or Joseph's coat.[3] Several species are notorious noxious weeds.[4]

Description

These are annual or perennial herbs or subshrubs. While some of the better-known species are aquatic plants, most are terrestrial.[4] They take many forms, from prostrate to erect to floating. The leaves are oppositely arranged. The inflorescence is a spike or a rounded head occurring in the leaf axils or the ends of branches. The flowers have 5 tepals. There are 3 to 5 stamens which are fused into a rim at the bases, and 5 pseudostaminodes, appendages between the stamens that are not true staminodes. The fruit is a utricle containing one seed.[2]

The genus Alternanthera contains both terrestrial and aquatic species. The photosynthetic pathway varies in this genus: Some species undergo C3 carbon fixation, one clade of 17 species has acquired the C4 pathway, and yet other species have an intermediate C3-C4 pathway.[5][1][6]
Species
Alternanthera 'Party Time'
Alternanthera sessilis
Alternanthera polygonoides
Alternanthera dentata 'Little Rub'

It is not yet clear how many species belong in the genus. Estimates range between 80 and 200.[1][2][4][7]

Species include:[3][7][8]

Alternanthera acaulis Andersson
Alternanthera adscendens Suess.
Alternanthera albotomentosa Suess.
Alternanthera albida (Moq.) Griseb
Alternanthera albosquarrosa Suess.
Alternanthera albotomentosa Suess.
Alternanthera altacruzensis Suess.
Alternanthera angustifolia R.Br. – narrow-leaf joyweed
Alternanthera aquatica (Parodi) Chodat
Alternanthera arequipensis Suess.
Alternanthera areschougii
Alternanthera asterotricha Uline
Alternanthera axillaris (Willd.) DC.
Alternanthera bettzickiana – calico-plant
Alternanthera brasiliana (L.) Kuntze – Brazilian joyweed, ruby leaf
Alternanthera caracasana Kunth – mat chaff-flower, washerwoman
Alternanthera corymbiformis
Alternanthera crucis Bold. – West Indian joyweed
Alternanthera dentata – little ruby
Alternanthera denticulata – lesser joyweed
Alternanthera echinocephala (Hook.f.) Christoph. – spiny-headed chaff flower,[9] seaurchin joyweed
Alternanthera ficoidea – parrotleaf, sanguinarea
Alternanthera filifolia (Hook.f.) J.T. Howell
Alternanthera flavescens – yellow joyweed
Alternanthera flavicoma
Alternanthera galapagensis
Alternanthera grandis
Alternanthera hassleriana Chodat – Hassler's alternanthera
Alternanthera helleri (B.L.Rob.) J.T.Howell
Alternanthera littoralis P.Beauv.
Alternanthera maritima (Mart.) A.St.-Hil. – seaside joyweed
Alternanthera mexicana
Alternanthera nahui
Alternanthera nana – downy joyweed, hairy joyweed
Alternanthera nesiotes
Alternanthera nodiflora – common joyweed
Alternanthera olivacea
Alternanthera paronichyoides A.St.-Hil. – smooth joyweed
Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. – alligatorweed
Alternanthera pubiflora
Alternanthera pungens
Alternanthera reineckii Briq.
Alternanthera sessilis (L.) DC. – rabbit-meat, sessile joyweed
Alternanthera snodgrassii
Alternanthera subscaposa
Alternanthera tenella Colla
Alternanthera versicolor R.Br.

Ecology

Many species have been reported as noxious weeds, including A. angustifolia, A. caracasana, A. denticulata, A. nana, A. nodiflora, A. paronychioides, A. philoxeroides, A. sessilis, A. tenella, and A. triandra.[4] The most important species is alligator weed (A. philoxeroides), a South American aquatic plant that has spread to other continents.[4] It is a weed of many kinds of agricultural crops, it is an invasive species that degrades native habitat, and its dense mats of vegetation clog waterways, slowing shipping and increasing flooding.[4] Alternanthera plants are known to produce allelopathic compounds that injure other plants, including crops.[4]

Biological pest control agents now in use to reduce alligator weed infestations include the alligator weed flea beetle (Agasicles hygrophila), the alligator weed thrips (Amynothrips andersoni), and the alligator weed stem borer (Arcola malloi).[4]
Uses

A. philoxeroides and A. sessilis are eaten as vegetables in parts of Asia.[4]

Some Alternanthera are used as ornamental plants.[4]
References

Sánchez-Del Pino, I., et al. (2012). Molecular phylogenetics of Alternanthera (Gomphrenoideae, Amaranthaceae): resolving a complex taxonomic history caused by different interpretations of morphological characters in a lineage with C4 and C3–C4 intermediate species. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 169(3), 493-517.
Alternanthera. Flora of North America.
Alternanthera. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).
Tanveer, A., et al. (2013). A review on genus Alternanthera weeds implications. Archived 2013-10-23 at the Wayback Machine Pak. J. Weed Sci. Res 19(1), 53-58.
Sage, R.F.; Sage, T.L.; Pearcy, R.W.; Borsch, T. (2007). "The taxonomic distribution of C4 photosynthesis in Amaranthaceae sensu stricto". American Journal of Botany. 94 (12): 1992–2003. doi:10.3732/ajb.94.12.1992. ISSN 0002-9122. PMID 21636394. open access
Chinthapalli, B., et al. (2001). Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase purified from leaves of C3, C4, and C3-C4 intermediate species of Alternanthera: Properties at limiting and saturating bicarbonate. Photosynthetica 38(3), 415-19.
Alternanthera. The Plant List.
GRIN Species Records of Alternanthera. Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).
McMullen, Conley K. (1999). Flowering Plants of the Galápagos. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-8621-0., p. 144