Redroot Amaranth
Amaranthus retroflexus
Found in riverbanks, pondshores, lakeshores, disturbed areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
68
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 94%
- 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
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Not yet recorded · Spread
Recorded in 27 Virginia counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
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Streams, rivers and their banks
Depression ponds and limesinks
Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.
Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground
Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
38CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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 38
- 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
- Mythimna unipunctaArmyworm Moth, White Speck
- Papaipema nebrisStalk Borer
- Pholisora catullusCommon Sootywing
- Platynota flavedanaBlack-Shaded Platynota
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
- Scythris trivinctellaBanded Scythris
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
- 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
- Xanthorhoe ferrugataRed Twin-Spot, Twin-Spot Carpet
- Helvibotys helvialis
- Paralobesia sambuci
- Paralobesia vernoniana
4BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Amaranthus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist 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
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
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
| Virginia rank | SNA |
|---|---|
| Global rank | GNR |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
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Sources
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- 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