Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Gomphrena nitida, Pearly Globe Amaranth

Gomphrena nitida, Pearly Globe Amaranth, Southwest Desert Flora Gomphrena nitida, Pearly Globe Amaranth, Southwest Desert Flora Gomphrena nitida, Pearly Globe Amaranth, Southwest Desert Flora


Scientific Name: Gomphrena nitida
Common Name: Pearly Globe Amaranth
Also Called: Ball Clover
Family: Amaranthaceae, Pigweed Family
Synonyms: ()
Status: Native
Duration: Annual
Size: Up to 2 feet or more.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; roots fibrous, stems erect, stems may have soft weak or thin hairs (pilose) or hairs that are stiff or bristly (strigose).
Leaves: Green; either sessile or with short petioles, blade is obovate or oblong.
Flower Color: White or yellowish-white, rarely reddish, flowers in ball-shape, flowers very similar to Sonoran Globe Amaranth.
Flowering Season: August to September.
Elevation: 4,000 to 6,000 feet.

Habitat Preferences: Dry plains and slopes usually with grasses.

Recorded Range: Rare in the United States, Gomphrena nitida is found only in Arizona, New Mexico and extreme southwest Texas. In Arizona, Sonoran Globe Amaranth is found in the southern part of the state.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Gomphrena nitida.

U.S. Weed Information: No data available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No data available.
Wetland Indicator: No data available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No data available.

Genus Information: 8 species in the United States. 3 species in Arizona.

Comments: In the United States, Pearly Globe Amaranth is found only in Arizona where it occurs mostly in southern Arizona. This species is very similar in appearance to Sonoran Globe Amaranth, Gomphrena sonorae which is found in central and southern Arizona.

Also see in Southwest Desert Flora also see Tufted Globe Amaranth, Pearly Globe Amaranth, Gomphrena nitida.

Date Profile Completed: 12/29/2014;rev. 07/19/2015, updated format 10/07/2017
References:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database – ITIS search
Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California.
Steven E. Clemants, FNA | Family List | FNA Vol. 4 | Amaranthaceae | Gomphrena, FNA Vol. 4 Page 451, 453, Flora of North America Editorial Committee, eds. 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. 16+ vols. New York and Oxford. (accessed 12/29/2014).
SEINet for synonyms, scientific names and recorded geographic locations, http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/.