Amaranthus albus
species of plant

Amaranthus albus is an annual species of flowering plant native to the Americas. Its common names include common tumbleweed, tumble pigweed, tumbleweed, prostrate pigweed, pigweed amaranth, white amaranth and white pigweed.
Description
Amaranthus albus is an annual herb growing up to 50 centimetres (20 in) tall, forming many branches. Larger specimens turn into tumbleweeds when they die and dry out. The plant creates small, greenish flowers in clumps in the axils of the leaves. Male and female flowers are mixed together in the same clump.
Distribution and habitat
It is native to the tropical Americas, but is a widespread introduced species in other places, including Europe, Africa, and Australia.
Uses
In Cambodia, the leaves of the plant (which is known as phti sâ in the Khmer language) are used as pig feed, and are sometimes cooked and eaten by people.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Amaranthus albus” is species of plant. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Amaranthus, albus and species, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “species of plant” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q164118. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
A general summary may omit uncertainty, sample limits or methodological disagreement that is explicit in the technical record. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Amaranthus albus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Amaranthus albus primary sources, Amaranthus albus archive and Amaranthus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Amaranthus albus”?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
- Is the terminology current, historical or disputed?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Amaranthus albus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.