Achyranthes sicula

Achyranthes sicula

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Caryophyllales
Classification System: APG IV Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Diaphoretickes Cladus: CAM Cladus: Archaeplastida Regnum: Plantae Cladus: Angiosperms Cladus: Eudicots Cladus: Core eudicots Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Amaranthaceae s.l.
Cladus: Amaranthaceae s.str.
Subfamilia: Amaranthoideae
Genus: Achyranthes
Species: Achyranthes sicula

Name

Achyranthes sicula (L.) All., Auct. Syn. Meth. Stirp. Hort. Regii Taur. 41. (1773)

• also in Mélanges Philos. Mat. Soc. Roy. Turin 5: 93. (1774)

• Lectotype (designated by Townsend 1994): “Amaranthus radice perpetua” in Herb. Boccone (P).

Synonyms

• Basionym
  • Achyranthes aspera var. sicula L., Sp. Pl. 1: 204. (1753)
• Homotypic
  • Achyranthes argentea Lam., Encycl. 1: 545. (1785), nom. illeg. superfl.
  • Cadelaria sicula (L.) Raf., Fl. Tellur. 3: 39 (1837)
  • Cadelaria argentea (Lam.) Raf., Autik. Bot.: 154. (1840), nom. illeg. superfl.
  • Achyranthes aspera var. argentea Eggers, Vidensk. Meddel. Naturhist. Foren. Kjøbenhavn 1876: 140 (1877), nom. illeg. superfl.
    • Achyranthes aspera var. argentea (Lam.) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 4: 994. (1879), isonym.
    • Achyranthes aspera var. argentea C.B.Clarke in Th.-Dyer, Fl. Trop. Afr. 6(1): 63 (1909), isonym.
• Heterotypic
  • Achyranthes aspera f. albida Maire & Weiller, Fl. Afr. Nord. 8: 219 (1962), nom. inval. descr. gall.

Distribution

Native distribution areas:

Europe Southwestern Europe Spain (I), Gibraltar (I), Sardegna Southeastern Europe Sicily, Italy Africa Northern Africa Algeria,, Cape Verde, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara Macaronesia Azores, Canary Islands (Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Gomera, Hierro, La Palma), Madeira (Madeira Isl.), Islas Selvagens. Asia-Temperate Western Asia Lebanon-Syria, Palestine. References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition

References

Primary references

• Allioni, C. 1774. Auctarium ad synopsim methodicam stirpium Horti reg. Taurinensis. Mélanges de Philosophie et de Mathématique de la Société Royale de Turin 5: 53–96. BHL (preprinted in 1773 with own pagination 1–44) Reference page. 
• Linnaeus, C. 1753. Species plantarum, exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas. Tomus I. Pp. [I–XII], 1–560. Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae [Stockholm]. BHL Reference page. 

Additional references

• Sukhorukov, A.P., Kushunina, M., Nilova, M.V., Baider, C. & Sennikov, A.N. 2024. Africa and Arabia encompass a much greater species diversity in the Achyranthes aspera aggregate (Amaranthaceae, achyranthoid clade): Evidence from morphological and chorological data. PhytoKeys 250: 21–94. DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.250.136139, BHL Reference page. 

Links

• Govaerts, R. et al. 2025. Achyranthes sicula in Kew Science Plants of the World Online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2025 Nov. 27. Reference page. 
• International Plant Names Index. 2025. Achyranthes sicula. Published online. Accessed: Nov. 27 2025. Reference page.

For more multimedia, look at Achyranthes aspera var. sicula on Wikimedia Commons.