Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook.f., Fl. Brit. India 4: 730 1885. (Syn: Achyranthes argentea var. borbonica Berhaut; Achyranthes porphyristachya Wall. ex Moq. (Unresolved));
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Images by Surajit Koley (Inserted by J.M.Garg)

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Keys:
Achyranthes aspera L. var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook. f.
Straggling subshrubs. Leaves decussate, oblanceate, 3-6 by 2-3 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, pubescent, chartaceous. Flowers in terminal and / or axillary spikes, bisexual; bracts and bracteoles spine-tipped; tepals 5, unequal, 1-3 nerved; stamens 5, connate, alternate with fimbriate staminodes; ovary superior, 1-locular, ovule 1, basal. Fruit a dehiscent utricle. Seed 1.
Habitat: Moist deciduous forests
Distribution: Peninsular India and Sri Lanka
Achyranthes aspera L., Sp. Pl. 204. 1753, var. aspera
Stem tomentose. Leaves 6-10 x 3-6 cm, broadly elliptic to obovate, apex abruptly acuminate, tomentose, nerves 6 pairs; petiole 5 mm long. Spike to 20 cm long, hispid; bracts 6 mm long, lanceolate, aristate; bracteoles entire, aristate. Flowers deflexed; tepals 7.5 x 2 mm, elliptic, acute, glabrous, equal; ovary truncate at apex. Achenes 3 mm long, ovoid, brown.
Habitat: Dry deciduous forests and forest plantations, also in the plains.
Distribution: Pantropical.
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Amaranthaceae herb id from Hooghly 12/10/12 sk:

Found this herb in a waste place.
Species : UNKNOWN
Habit & Habitat : wild herb, about 1 to 1.5 feet; leaves are significantly bigger at base
Date : 11/10/12, 3.10 p.m.
Place : Hooghly

Nice pictures of Achyranthes aspera.


I have an earlier post of Achyranthes aspera L. at – https://groups.google.com/d/topic/indiantreepix/5L
The leaves of this species differ from those in the above post. Maybe different variety.

Achyranthes aspera L., Sp. Pl. 204. 1753, var. aspera

Stem tomentose. Leaves 6-10 x 3-6 cm, broadly elliptic to obovate, apex abruptly acuminate, tomentose, nerves 6 pairs; petiole 5 mm long. Spike to 20 cm long, hispid; bracts 6 mm long, lanceolate, aristate; bracteoles entire, aristate. Flowers deflexed; tepals 7.5 x 2 mm, elliptic, acute, glabrous, equal; ovary truncate at apex. Achenes 3 mm long, ovoid, brown.
Habitat: Dry deciduous forests and forest plantations, also in the plains.
Distribution: Pantropical.
Achyranthes aspera L. var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook. f.
Straggling subshrubs. Leaves decussate, oblanceate, 3-6 by 2-3 cm, base cuneate, apex acuminate, pubescent, chartaceous. Flowers in terminal and / or axillary spikes, bisexual; bracts and bracteoles spine-tipped; tepals 5, unequal, 1-3 nerved; stamens 5, connate, alternate with fimbriate staminodes; ovary superior, 1-locular, ovule 1, basal. Fruit a dehiscent utricle. Seed 1.
Habitat: Moist deciduous forests
Distribution: Peninsular India and Sri Lanka
Achyranthes aspera L. var. pubescens (Miq.) Towns.

Erect herbs; stem glabrous. Leaves to 6 x 2.5 cm, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate at apex and base, pubescent above and below; petiole 5 mm long. Spike 5-10 cm long, hispid; bracts 2.5 mm long, lanceolate, aristate; bracteoles orbicular, emarginate at apex, cuspidate, cusp 3 mm long. Flowers many, perpendicular to the axis; outer tepals larger, 5 mm long, lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, inner smaller with revolute apex; staminal tube truncate, minutely ciliate or glabrous. Achenes 2 mm long, truncate, cuspidate, dark brown.

Habitat: Evergreen forests at high elevations
Distribution: India
Please compare.

your pic 2 is typical infloresence 11oct12_grlgch_DSCN3885.jpg of APAAMARG of Ayurveda.
and … has explaind the varietal differences…


Leaf apex and base are very confusing to me, and to FoC & FoP too!
A description of leaf apex of Achyranthes aspera L., Sp. Pl. 204. 1753, var. aspera
  1. in FoC = apex obtuse or mucronate
  2. in FoP = obtuse or abruptly apiculate at the apex
An illustration in FoP tells me that my earlier upload (20th July, 2012) is Achyranthes aspera L., Sp. Pl. 204. 1753, var. aspera.
… has a pic of Achyranthes aspera L. var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook. f. in flickr. – http://www.flickr.com/photos/dinesh_valke/2897903559/
The leaves of my species seem to be different from the above. But at the same time my picture (11oct12_grlgch_DSCN3898.jpg) tells me that my species has decussate leaves, and may be with cuneate base.
Now, remains Achyranthes aspera L. var. pubescens (Miq.) Towns. –
  1. a herbarium = http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/SpecimenDetails.aspx?PlantID=1611
  2. attaching more images taken today. Middle spike is much longer than 10 cm. I scaled two leaves of the plant, one at base and the other at middle of the stem. Leaves at the base region are much bigger than the keys you have provided in this thread.
  3. Moreover, this plant comes from Gangetic plain, not from forests at high elevations.

So. i am not sure of the ID of this A. aspera.


“Plant Groups” mentions this species as APANG in Bengali and APAMARGA in Sanskrit.


Today (13/10/12) i found another plant which i think is the same species. This one is not less than four feet high and may be called a sub shrub. Attaching new pictures.


Yes. seems Aapaang likes to grow in the disturbed rocky/broken bricks kinda soil!!1


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Thank you … for the info on habitat of this plant.

I noticed a few more of this plant around my PARA. The plants here are not as big and sturdy as the third set of photographs in this post or thread. But, neither they are as small as what we usually see on roadside and waste place. I think –
  1. This variety does not form community, rather they are scattered here and there. More of an under-shrub than a herb.
  2. They may grow big, like a shrub, if left undisturbed. Regular removal of roadside weeds and collection of fuel wood by not so privileged villagers bar them to grow more.
  3. Unequal tepals, as can be seen in newly attached two pictures with this mail, suggests that it may be Achyranthes aspera L. var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook. f., conforming to the keys provided by …


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Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae Week : sk-19 : Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook. f. ?:
This plant usually grows in shady area, under trees and shrubbery. It can attain a height of 5 ft. The leaves at base are much larger than the leaves in the middle or top of branches. This is rather an undershrub. Spikes are usually about 2 ft. or more.
This plant seems to be the Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya of the “Flora of British India”.


08feb13_DSCN6688.jpg is Achyranthus aspera Amaranthaceae


Yes, it is Achyranthus aspera, more correctly Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook. f.


 

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Chenopodiaceae and Amaranthaceae Week: :: KD 03:: Achyranthes aspera L from Kamrup district, Assam:
Attached images are Achyranthes aspera L. collected from Kamrup district, Assam.


Yes … Very good photographs.


Nice pictures. Likely to be Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya


I am confused between A. aspera & A. bidentata, even after reading the keys in – https://groups.google.com/forum/?hl=en&fromgroups=#!topic/indiantreepix/nOjHm41v4wI.

But, since the spikes in this thread is relatively longer and it has already been identified as A. aspera, I agree with …



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Achyranthes bidentata Blume ???? : 5 posts by 2 authors. Attachments (7)
Location: Telkot, Nagarkot, Nepal  
Date: 12 November 2017
Altitude: 5400 ft.

I feel more closer to images at Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook.f.  rather than those at Achyranthes bidentata Blume 



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SK 2271 04 November 2019 : 17 posts by 4 authors. Attachments (4) -1, 1, 2 & 2 mb.
Location:  Ranimahal, Palpa
Date: 25 September 2019
Elevation:453 m.
Habit : Wild
Achyranthes ??  Bidentata, Aspera or Subsp. or  coynei ??

Attachments (2) – 391 kb and 7 mb.


Achyranthes aspera. Varieties determination difficult.
There are 4 to 5 varieties described, no key I could find online ! 


Elevation range for aspera?



Eflora of Nepal mostly refers to eflora of China.

FOC has A.aspera var. indica and var. aspera as distinct varieties ….eflora of Nepal treats them as synonyms.
A. aspera var. porphyristachya is a variety mentioned in eflora of Nepal, without description, is absent from FOC .
The plant list considers var. porphyristachya an accepted name along with six others as lower taxa.  

I already checked all and could not decide. Does it matches with Achyranthes coynei – Coyne’s Chaff Flower – Flowers of Indiawww.flowersofindia.net › catalog › slides › Coyne’s Chaff Flower
which is not listed in Nepal ?

Ok, I will check. but not before Monday


Somewhere I read elevation up to 1200 meters.
I shall stick to A. aspera


https://www.researchgate.net/publication/278301813 Achyranthes_coynei_Santapau_Amaranthaceae An_Endemic_and_Threatened_Species from_Kachchh_Desert_India


May not be coynei …!


In efloraofindia it has been said that A .conyei is big brother of A.aspera, up to 3.5 meters tall sometimes.

Average A. aspera height in my area is about 125 cm, spike about 50 cm.
Taller plants I have seen upto 250 cm with spike longer than 100 cm, thicker, each fruit a bit bigger.
Typically, they live longer. Leaf is very little hairy, larger and papery (chartaceous). Dash of red everywhere including spike . I was told it was A. aspera var. porphyristachya.
I have tried to sort them out … varieties in A .aspera in my area. Problem is, characters overlap a lot across the plants and they change with time. The look of plant changes according to season too. It will not be same in August and september and October and November. In summers, few plants will survive …robust, tall, reddish, longer spikes, less hairy.
But to say the taller ones are or are not A .conyei is impossible for me.
Photographs in the paper I quoted are not really giving out diagnostic point(s) except light pink tepals …the kind of color I have not yet seen in Achyranthes.

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FOR VALIDATION :: Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook.f. :: Waghbil, Thane, Maharashtra :: Sep 27, 2008 · JUN23 DV92: 1 image.
Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook.f.
… FOR VALIDATION
Waghbil, Thane, Maharashtra :: Sep 27, 2008 · 3:41 PM IST :: about 3 m (10 ft) asl


I guess the ID is correct !


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FOR VALIDATION :: Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook.f. :: Waghbil, Thane, Maharashtra :: Sep 27, 2008 · JUN23 DV100: 2 images.

Achyranthes aspera var. porphyristachya (Wall. ex Moq.) Hook.f.
… FOR VALIDATION
Waghbil, Thane, Maharashtra :: Sep 27, 2008 · 2:42 PM IST :: about 3 m (10 ft) asl
A long shot of the plant’s colony, photo taken the same day later, is posted at efloraofindia.

I guess the correct ID !


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MS,Oct.,2023/10 Achyranthes sp. for id.: 2 images.
Location : Hmuifang, Mizoram

Altitude : ca.1,500 m
Date : 27-10-2023
Habit : Herb
Habitat : Wild


https://efloraofindia.com/2011/02/01/achyranthes/ !


Maybe
https://efloraofindia.com/2012/10/30/achyranthes-aspera-var-porphyristachya/



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References:

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