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Genus: Amaranthus
Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of herbs. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to gold. Members of this genus share many characteristics and uses with members of the closely related genus Celosia.
Although several species are often considered weeds, people around the world value amaranths as leaf vegetables, cereals, and ornamentals.
Amaranth seed
Several species are raised for amaranth "grain" in Asia and the Americas. This should more correctly be termed "pseudograin" (see below). Amaranth grain contains no gluten and is safe to consume for individuals with coeliac disease.[7]
Ancient amaranth grains still used to this day include the three species, Amaranthus caudatus, Amaranthus cruentus, and Amaranthus hypochondriacus.[8] Although amaranth was cultivated on a large scale in ancient Mexico, Guatemala, and Peru, nowadays it is only cultivated on a small scale there, along with India, China, Nepal, and other tropical countries; thus, there is potential for further cultivation in those countries, as well as in the U.S. In a 1977 article in Science, amaranth was described as "the crop of the future."[9] It has been proposed as an inexpensive native crop that could be cultivated by indigenous people in rural areas for several reasons:
It is easily harvested.
It is highly tolerant of arid environments, which are typical of most subtropical and some tropical regions[citation needed], and
Its seeds are a good source of protein, rich in essential amino acids such as lysine, while being a poor source of essential amino acids such as leucine and threonine. Common grains such as wheat and corn are rich in amino acids that amaranth lacks; thus, amaranth and other grains can complement each other.[10][11]
The seeds of Amaranthus species contain about thirty percent more protein than cereals like rice, sorghum and rye.[10] In cooked and edible forms, amaranth is competitive with wheat germ and oats - higher in some nutrients, lower in others.[12]
It is easy to cook. As befits its weedy life history, amaranth grains grow very rapidly and their large seedheads can weigh up to 1 kilogram and contain a half-million seeds in three species of amaranth.[11]
This is what mine looked like that I grew. Hopefully the seed is still good.
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