Sandhill Amaranth
Amaranthus arenicola
—
Not scored
Native status: sources disagree, under review. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 35%
- Height
- Up to about 5 feet
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Annual
Not yet recorded · Spread · Light · Soil · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 3 Arkansas counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
41CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AR
Genus host records with ranges including AR · Amaranthus
- Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
- Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
- Anavitrinella pampinariaCommon Gray, Cranberry Spanworm
- 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
- Melanchra pictaPainted Arches, Zebra Caterpillar Moth
- Melanochroia chephiseWhite-Tipped Black Moth, Snowbush Spanworm
- Mocis latipesSmall Mocis, Striped Grass Looper
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pholisora catullusCommon Sootywing
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded 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
- Platynota nigrocervina
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
22BirdsRecorded eating Amaranthus in Arkansas
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Birds whose range includes Arkansas, most records first.
- Common Ground-dove8 diet records
- Red-winged Blackbird6 diet records
- Brown-headed Cowbird4 diet records
- Vesper Sparrow4 diet records
- Lapland Longspur2 diet records
- Mourning Dove2 diet records
- Wild Turkey2 diet records
- American Pipit1 diet record
- American RobinFruit. 1 diet record
- American Tree SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
Show all 22
- Bell's Vireo1 diet record
- Brewer's Blackbird1 diet record
- Chestnut-collared Longspur1 diet record
- Chipping SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Dark-eyed JuncoSeeds. 1 diet record
- Eastern BluebirdFruit. 1 diet record
- Eastern KingbirdSeeds. 1 diet record
- House FinchSeeds. 1 diet record
- Rock Pigeon1 diet record
- Song SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
- Spotted TowheeSeeds. 1 diet record
- White-crowned SparrowSeeds. 1 diet record
Direct food only. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
Birds that eat Amaranthus 22
Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.
- Common Ground-doveColumbina passerina
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Brown-headed CowbirdMolothrus ater
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- American RobinTurdus migratorius
- American Tree SparrowSpizella arborea
- Bell's VireoVireo bellii
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Chestnut-collared LongspurCalcarius ornatus
- Chipping SparrowSpizella passerina
- Dark-eyed JuncoJunco hyemalis
- Eastern BluebirdSialia sialis
- Eastern KingbirdTyrannus tyrannus
- House FinchCarpodacus mexicanus
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Song SparrowMelospiza melodia
- Spotted TowheePipilo maculatus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Flower color
- White or green
What its natural habitat tells you
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “White or green” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 5 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Annual” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Sandhill Pigweed
Conservation status
| Arkansas rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| AR status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Arkansas occurrence source
- 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