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Pest Information

Smooth Pigweed

Smooth Pigweed

  • Latin Name: Amaranthus Hybridus
  • Common Name: Smooth Pigweed
  • Other Names: Green amaranth, careless weed, Palmer amaranth, pigweed, spleen amaranth, red amaranth, rough pigweed.

Pest Details

Smooth Pigweed

Origin:

Introduced from tropical Latin America, and now widespread in the United States.

Biology:

An annual weed reproducing from seeds that germinate in the spring. Flowering occurs in mid-summer with seed production occurring into late fall. Pigweeds contain nitrates that can be toxic to livestock when eaten.

Identification:

Mature plants are very similar to Redroot Pigweed and Powell Amaranth. Differences may be the hairy stems and very little branching in the upper part of the stem. Leaves are oval with smooth margins, and are green above and light green to purplish below. Flowers are produced as green, inconspicuous flowers in large, dense clusters, and may have lateral branching flower clusters arising from the main, central cluster. There also commonly are small flower clusters in the axils of the lower leaves.

Characteristicts Important to Control:

Annual weeds that occur in turf or crops, and prefer coarse, sandy soils.

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