Species: Corispermum americanum var. americanum (Nutt.) Nutt.

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Corispermum americanum var. americanum (Nutt.) Nutt.

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TAXONOMY

Family:

Chenopodiaceae

Genus:

Corispermum

Species Synonyms:

none

Common Names:

American bugseed
neat bugseed

DISTRIBUTION

Canada:

southern British Columbia – western Alberta, northwestern and southern Saskatchewan – western Ontario

Saskatchewan:

northwestern and southwestern Saskatchewan; Frenchman River Valley – Saskatoon – Pike Lake – lower Qu’Appelle River Valley, Lake Athabasca

Ecoregion:

Mixed Grassland, Moist Mixed Grassland, Aspen Parkland, Athabasca Plain

HABITAT

Saskatchewan:

sandy shores and prairies, sand dunes, disturbed roadsides, and old fields

RARITY STATUS

Provincial Status According
to Harms (2003):

Vulnerable

Nature Conservancy Status:

None

Saskatchewan Species at
Risk Status:

None

COSEWIC Status:

None

American bugseed is vulnerable in Saskatchewan because it is rare or uncommon and is regionally restricted. Plants are usually locally numerous within a population but are limited in area. No immediate threats are known at present, but are possible in the future.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Height:

20 – 50 cm

Roots:

taproot slender

Stem:

annual, solitary, branched, smooth to slightly grooved, hairs star-shaped, often becoming hairless, greenish to reddish with age

Leaves:

alternate, stalkless, 2 – 5 cm long, 1 – 4 mm wide, linear, hairy, margin entire

Inflorescence:

terminal or axillary, unbranched, 1 – 15 cm long, linear, loose, spike-like, stem usually exposed; lower bracts leafy, oval, narrower than fruit, tapered to the tip, margin dry and membranous, 1 flower per bract

Flowers:

perianth segments 1, membranous, translucent, margin irregularly toothed; stamens 1 – 3; stigmas 2, styles 0, ovary superior

Fruits:

2 – 4 mm long, egg-shaped to oval, wing small and translucent, yellowish, greenish, or brownish, often with reddish spots and whitish warts

*KEY FOR CORISPERMUM* IN SASKATCHEWAN**

1 Inflorescence not interrupted, dense, club-shaped; fruits wingless or with barely visible wing; style bases forming a triangular beak protruding over edge of fruit	C. villosum
1 Inflorescence interrupted, dense or loose, linear to oval; fruits winged, if almost wingless, then fruits 3 – 5 mm long; style bases not forming a triangular beak	2

2 Inflorescence narrowly linear, loose, stem visible through inflorescence; fruit may be spotted and/or warty	C. americanum ssp. americanum
2 Inflorescence oval, dense, stem not visible through inflorescence; fruit usually not spotted or warty	C. hookeri