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How to Manage Pests

Identification: Weed Photo Gallery

Redroot pigweed

Scientific name: Amaranthus retroflexus (Pigweed Family: Amaranthaceae)

Life stages of Redroot pigweed top left picture top right picture bottom left picture bottom right picture

Click on image to enlarge

DESCRIPTION:
Redroot pigweed, a summer annual broadleaf, is widely distributed in California and commonly found in cultivated land, roadside ditches, and waste areas. Cotyledons (seed leaves) are long and narrow with red undersides. First true leaves are much broader than the cotyledons. They have notched tips. Mature plants grow from 3 to 7 feet (1 - 2.1 m) tall. Stalked leaves have prominent veins. Inconspicuous flowers with green leaflike structures form dense, terminal clusters on upper branches. The plant is named for its pinkish to red taproot.

Broadleaf ID illustration.


Statewide IPM Program, Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California
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For noncommercial purposes only, any Web site may link directly to this page. FOR ALL OTHER USES or more information, read Legal Notices. Unfortunately, we cannot provide individual solutions to specific pest problems. See How to manage pests, or in the U.S., contact your local Cooperative Extension office for assistance. /PMG/WEEDS/redroot_pigweed.html revised: November 17, 2008. Contact webmaster.