Leafy volunteer with spiky buds in community garden

Hi there,

I have some plants sprouting in a community plot (in Victoria) I've taken over this year, and I'm not entirely certain of what these are. I had originally thought buckwheat, but leaf structure is leaving me a bit uncertain.

Plants began sprouting at end of July in exposed, non-cultivated soil. They are approx. 1.5'-2' in height, stalks have a light red tinge, and no flowers as yet but buds forming have a fuzzy-spiky look to them as seen in the pics.

There's a fair bit of it and before pulling/discarding I want to make sure it's not a valuable cover crop/soil ammender such as buckwheat, etc.

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

I'm interested to see if this gets identified as Amaranthus hybridus.

 

Or A. spinosus?

 

Hey, thanks kindly for the responses....I'm leaning towards Amaranthus hybridus myself, after doing a bit more investigating.

 

The plant looks to be leaning also.