According to the CalFlora website (http://www.calflora.org/), 21 species of amaranths occur (to some extent) in California. While many are non-native, a few, including prostrate pigweed (Amaranthus blitoides) and Palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeri), are indigenous.
I recently attended a Santa Ana River - Orange County Weed Management Area (SAROCWMA) meeting and there was the opportunity for participants to update the group about new invasive plants as well as give an update on management of these and others.
Last week during California Invasive Species Action Week (June 2 June 10), we highlighted several pests, but there are many more invasive species out there. Now that you know about them, share your knowledge of invasive species with others.
A new UC Cooperative Extension podcast that focuses on growing orchard crops in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys is now available free at http://growingthevalleypodcast.com, Apple iTunes and Google Play Music.