Amaranthaceae

Alternanthera brasiliana

Common Names: Purple alternanthera.

Plant Form: Perennial herb or small shrub. Size: Up to 2 m tall. Can occasionally climb to 4 m. Stem: Reddish or purplish, smooth, with fine hairs when young becoming hairless with age. Leaves: In pairs, green with a purple tinge or bright reddish-purple. Flowers: Tiny and whitish in dense clusters up to 2 cm long in the leaf forks. Fruit and Seeds: Tiny brown and hidden in the old flower parts. Containing a single seed. Habitat: Roadsides, waste areas, urban areas, bushland edges, lawns.