Redroot Amaranth
Amaranthus retroflexus
Found in riverbanks, pondshores, lakeshores, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
—
Not native
Not native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 76%
- Height
- 1 to 6.6 feet tall
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Usually moist
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At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
- Leaves
- Deciduous
- Bloom
- May to October
JFMAMJJASOND
Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 8 Alabama counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Streams, rivers and their banks; depression ponds and limesinks; ponds, lakes and their shores; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
41CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL
Genus host records with ranges including AL · Amaranthus
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- Argyrotaenia ivanaIvana Leafroller Moth
- Dicymolomia julianalisJulia's Dicymolomia
- Disclisioprocta stellataSomber Carpet, Bougainvillea Looper
- Epiblema otiosanaBidens Borer Moth
- Estigmene acreaSalt Marsh Moth, Acrea Moth
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
Show all 41
- Gesta martialisMottled Duskywing
- Hahncappsia mancalisCommon Hahncappsia
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Herpetogramma bipunctalisSouthern Beet Webworm, Two-Spotted Herpetogramma
- Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
- Hymenia perspectalisSpotted Beet Webworm
- Melanochroia chephiseWhite-Tipped Black Moth, Snowbush Spanworm
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Neogalea suniaLantana Stick Caterpillar, Catabena Moth
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pholisora catullusCommon Sootywing
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Psara obscuralisObscure Psara Moth
- Scythris trivinctellaBanded Scythris
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- Spodoptera albulaWhite-Spotted Armyworm, Gray-Streaked Armyworm
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
- Staphylus hayhurstiiHayhurst's Scallopwing, Scalloped Sooty Wing, Scalloped Sootywing
- Udea rubigalisCelery Leaftier
- Virbia aurantiacaOrange Virbia, Orange Holomelina
- Helvibotys helvialis
- Paralobesia sambuci
- Paralobesia vernoniana
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
39BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Amaranthus
- Acanthis flammeaCommon Redpoll
- Agelaius phoeniceusRed-winged Blackbird
- Agelaius tricolorTricolored Blackbird
- Alectoris chukarChukar
- Anthus rubescensAmerican Pipit
- Calcarius lapponicusLapland Longspur
- Calcarius ornatusChestnut-collared Longspur
- Callipepla californicaCalifornia Quail
- Columba liviaRock Pigeon
- Columbina passerinaCommon Ground Dove
Show all 39
- Euphagus cyanocephalusBrewer's Blackbird
- Haemorhous mexicanusHouse Finch
- Ixoreus naeviusVaried Thrush
- Junco hyemalisDark-eyed Junco
- Meleagris gallopavoWild Turkey
- Melospiza melodiaSong Sparrow
- Melozone crissalisCalifornia Towhee
- Molothrus aterBrown-headed Cowbird
- Oreortyx pictusMountain Quail
- Perdix perdixGray Partridge
- Pheucticus melanocephalusBlack-headed Grosbeak
- Pinicola enucleatorPine Grosbeak
- Pipilo maculatusSpotted Towhee
- Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
- Pooecetes gramineusVesper Sparrow
- Rhynchophanes mccowniiMcCown's Longspur
- Sialia sialisEastern Bluebird
- Spizella breweriBrewer's Sparrow
- Spizella passerinaChipping Sparrow
- Spizelloides arboreaAmerican Tree Sparrow
- Turdus migratoriusAmerican Robin
- Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
- Tyrannus tyrannusEastern Kingbird
- Vireo belliiBell's Vireo
- Vireo olivaceusRed-eyed Vireo
- Zenaida asiaticaWhite-winged Dove
- Zenaida macrouraMourning Dove
- Zonotrichia atricapillaGolden-crowned Sparrow
- Zonotrichia leucophrysWhite-crowned Sparrow
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 3a–11b
- Soil pH
- Neutral
- Flower color
- Green or white
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “May to October” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Green or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- Hardiness · “Zones 3a–11b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “1 to 6.6 feet (0.3-2 m) tall” · Fire Effects Information System: Amaranthus retroflexus (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Minnesota Wildflowers differ) · Source botanical description; original units and scope retained
- Leaves · “Deciduous” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Annual” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Neutral” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Redroot Pigweed
Conservation status
| Alabama rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| AL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Sources
- Alabama Plant Atlas
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications