Achyranthes is a genus of medicinal and ornamental plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. Chaff flower is a common name for plants in this genus. The Hawaiian species (A. divaricata, A. humile, and A. sandwicensis) are known in Hawaiian as kuluī.
A 2024 morphological and phylogenetic analysis by Vanessa Di Vincenzo et al. merged the genus Achyropsis and the Hawaiian genus Nototrichium into Achyranthes to make it monophyletic. The genus is characterized by solitary, fertile flowers.Di Vincenzo, V., Berendsohn, W., Wondafrash, M. and Borsch, T. (2025), Phylogenetics and morphological character evolution in the achyranthoid clade (Amaranthaceae): Evidence to re-circumscribe the genera Achyranthes and Cyathula and to resurrect a third species of the former genus Sericocomopsis in East Africa. Taxon, 74: 66-100. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.13284
Species 33 species are accepted. Achyranthes abyssinica Achyranthes ancistrophora C.C.Towns. Achyranthes annua Achyranthes arborescens R.Br. Achyranthes aspera L. (= A. argentea) (Sanskrit : apamarg (अपामार्ग)) Achyranthes atollensis (extinct) Achyranthes avicularis Achyranthes bidentata Blume (synonym Achyranthes japonica (Miq.) Nakai) Achyranthes borbonica Achyranthes coynei Santapau Achyranthes diandra Roxb. Achyranthes divaricata Achyranthes fasciculata (Suess.) C.C.Towns. Achyranthes fruticulosa Achyranthes graminiformis Achyranthes humilis Achyranthes laniceps Achyranthes leptostachya Achyranthes mangarevica Suess. Achyranthes marchionica R.Br. Achyranthes margaretarum de Lange Achyranthes mauritiana Achyranthes mutica A.Gray ex H.Mann Achyranthes porphyrostachya Achyranthes sandwicensis Achyranthes schinzii Achyranthes seychellensis Achyranthes shahii M.R.Almeida & S.M.Almeida Achyranthes sicula Achyranthes splendens Mart. ex Moq. Achyranthes talbotii Hutch. & Dalziel Achyranthes velutina Achyranthes viridis Achyranthes viriditepala
References
External links Flora of North America: Achyranthes