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Alternanthera
Alternanthera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae. It is a widespread genus with most species occurring in the tropical Americas, and others in Asia, Africa, and Australia. Plants of the genus may be known generally as joyweeds, or Joseph's coat. Several species are notorious noxious weeds.
Many species have been reported as noxious weeds, including A. angustifolia, A. caracasana, A. denticulata, A. nana, A. nodiflora, A. paronychioides, A. philoxeroides, A. sessilis, A. tenella, and A. triandra. The most important species is alligator weed (A. philoxeroides), a South American aquatic plant that has spread to other continents. It is a weed of many kinds of agricultural crops, it is an invasive species that degrades native habitat, and its dense mats of vegetation clog waterways, slowing shipping and increasing flooding. Alternanthera plants are known to produce allelopathic compounds that injure other plants, including crops.
A. philoxeroides and A. sessilis are eaten as vegetables in parts of Asia.
Narrow Leaf Joyweed · Alternanthera areschougii · Calico Plant · Alternanthera brasiliana var. villosa · Brazilian joyweed · Washerwoman · Alternanthera corymbiformis · Lesser Joyweed · Sea Urchin Joyweed · Sanguinaria · Three-leafed chaff flower · Alternanthera flavicoma
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Alternanthera by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
