Beyond Croplands: Amaranthus palmeri in Residential Lawns of Lubbock, Texas.

Abstract

Amaranthus palmeri (Palmer amaranth) is a highly competitive weed species widely recognized for its impact on major US cropping systems. While its presence and consequences in agricultural fields are well documented, reports from non-agricultural environments remain limited. Here, we document the occurrence of A. palmeri in public and residential lawns across Lubbock, Texas, located in the South Plains—one of the world's largest cotton-producing regions—based on field observations conducted over two consecutive years (2024 and 2025). Systematic surveys were performed across all six council districts of the city, identifying populations at multiple urban locations in both years. Morphological characterization of the observed specimens revealed diagnostic traits consistent with A. palmeri, including hairless stems and leaves, oval to diamond-shaped leaves, petioles equal to or longer than the leaf length, and a small terminal spine. The repeated detection of A. palmeri across survey years indicates persistence in non-agricultural environments within this region. These findings provide preliminary evidence that urban and residential landscapes may represent a stable ecological context for this species and support the inclusion of such environments in future weed distribution and management studies.

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