Amaranth
Encyclopedia
Amaranthus, collectively known as amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus
of herbs. Approximately 60 species
are recognized, with inflorescence
s 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 weed
s, people around the world value amaranths as leaf vegetable
s, cereal
s, and ornamentals
.
The ultimate root of "amaranth" is the Greek
(amarantos) "unfading" with the Greek word for "flower" ἄνθος (anthos) factoring into the word's development as "amaranth" - the more correct "amarant" is an archaic variant.
) is distinctive, the genus
has few distinguishing characters among the 70 species included. This complicates taxonomy
and Amaranthus has generally been considered among systematists as a "difficult" genus.
Formerly, Sauer (1955) classified the genus into 2 sub-genera, differentiating only between monoecious and dioecious species: Acnida (L.) Aellen ex K.R. Robertson and Amaranthus. Although this classification was widely accepted, further infrageneric classification was (and still is) needed to differentiate this widely diverse group.
Currently, Amaranthus includes 3 recognized sub-genera and 70 species, although species numbers are questionable due to hybridization and species concepts. Infrageneric classification focuses on inflorescence, flower characters and whether a species is monoecious/dioecious, as in the Sauer (1955) suggested classification. A modified infrageneric classification of Amaranthus was published by Mosyakin & Robertson (1996) and includes 3 subgenera: Acnida, Amaranthus, and Albersia. The taxonomy is further differentiated by sections within each of the sub-genera.
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
.
Ancient amaranth grains still used to this day include the three species, Amaranthus caudatus
, Amaranthus cruentus
, and Amaranthus hypochondriacus
. 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." It has been proposed as an inexpensive native crop that could be cultivated by indigenous people in rural areas for several reasons:
Kiwicha, as amaranth is known today in the Andes
, was one of the staple foodstuffs of the Incas. Known to the Aztec
s as huautli, it is thought to have represented up to 80% of their caloric consumption before the conquest. Another important use of amaranth throughout Mesoamerica
was to prepare ritual drinks and foods.
To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn
and mixed with honey
, molasses
or chocolate
to make a treat called alegría, meaning "joy" in Spanish.
Diego Duran
described the festivities for Huitzilopochtli
, a blue hummingbird god. (Real hummingbirds feed on amaranth flowers.) The Aztec month of Panquetzaliztli
(7 December to 26 December) was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. People decorated their homes and trees with paper flags; there were ritual races, processions, dances, songs, prayers, and finally human sacrifices. This was one of the more important Aztec festivals, and the people prepared for the whole month. They fasted or ate very little; a statue of the god was made out of amaranth (huautli) seeds and honey, and at the end of the month, it was cut into small pieces so everybody could eat a little piece of the god. After the Spanish conquest, cultivation of amaranth was outlawed, while some of the festivities were subsumed into the Christmas
celebration.
Because of its importance as a symbol of indigenous culture, and because it is very palatable, easy to cook, and its protein particularly well suited to human nutritional needs, interest in grain amaranth (especially A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus) revived in the 1970s. It was recovered in Mexico from wild varieties and is now commercially cultivated. It is a popular snack sold in Mexico City
and other parts of Mexico, sometimes mixed with chocolate
or puffed rice
, and its use has spread to Europe
and parts of North America
. Amaranth and quinoa
are called pseudograins because of their flavor and cooking similarities to grains. These are dicot plant seeds, and both contain exceptionally complete protein
for plant sources. Besides protein
, amaranth grain
provides a good source of dietary fiber
and dietary mineral
s such as iron
, magnesium
, phosphorus
, copper
, and especially manganese
.
Scientific studies suggest Amaranth grain is a good source of essential amino acid lysine
, something other grains are low in. Amaranth is not a complete source of essential amino acid
s. For example, amaranth is limiting in leucine
and threonine
- essential amino acids that are abundant in other grains. Amaranth may therefore be a promising supplement to other grains.
Amaranth seed flour has been evaluated as an additive to wheat flour by food specialists. To determine palatability, different levels of amaranth grain flour were mixed with the wheat flour and baking ingredients (1% salt, 2.5% fat, 1.5% yeast, 10% sugar and 52–74% water), fermented, molded, pan-proved and baked. The baked products were evaluated for loaf volume, moisture content, color, odor, taste and texture. The amaranth containing products were then compared with bread made from 100% wheat flour. The loaf volume decreased by 40% and the moisture content increased from 22 to 42% with increase in amaranth grain flour. The study found that the sensory scores of the taste, odor color and texture decreased with increasing amounts of amaranth. Generally, above 15% amaranth grain flour, there were significant differences in the evaluated sensory qualities and the high amaranth-containing product was found to be of unacceptable palatability to the population sample that evaluated the baked products.
Amaranth grain is a crop of moderate importance in the Himalayas
.
, Amaranthus blitum
, Amaranthus dubius
, and Amaranthus tricolor
.
In Indonesia
and Malaysia, leaf amaranth is called bayam, while the Tagalogs in the Philippines
call the plant alocon. In the state of Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar
in India
, it is called Chaulai and is a popular green leafy vegetable (referred to in the class of vegetable preparations called Saag). It is called Chua in Kumaun area of Uttarakhand, where it is a popular red-green vegetable. In Karnataka state in India it is used to prepare curries like Hulee, palya, Majjigay-hulee and so on. In the state of Kerala
, it's called 'Cheera' and is consumed by stir-frying the leaves with spices and red chillies to make 'Cheera Thoran'. In Tamilnadu State, it is called முளைக்கீரை and is regularly consumed as a favourite dish, where the greens are steamed, and mashed, with light seasoning of salt, red chillis and cumin. It is called keerai masial (கீரை மசியல்). In Andhra Pradesh
, India
, this leaf is added in preparation of a popular dal
called thotakura pappu తొట కూర పప్పు (Telugu
). In Maharashtra
, it is called as "Shravani Maath" (literally माठ grown in month of Shravan) and it is available in both red and white colour. In Orissa
, it is called as "Khada saga", it is used to prepare 'Saga Bhaja', in which the leaf is fried with chillies and onions.
The root of mature amaranth is an excellent vegetable. It is white and cooked with tomatoes or tamarind gravy. It has a milky taste and is alkaline.
In China
, the leaves and stems are used as a stir-fry vegetable, or in soups, and called yin choi (苋菜; pinyin: xiàncài; and variations on this transliteration in various dialects). Amaranth greens are believed to help enhance eyesight. In Vietnam
, it is called rau dền and is used to make soup
. There are two species popular as edible vegetable in Vietnam: dền đỏ- amaranthus tricolor and dền cơm or dền trắng- amaranthus viridis.
A traditional food plant in Africa, amaranth has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security
, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.
In East Africa
, Amaranth leaf is known in chewa as bonongwe, and in Swahili
as mchicha, as terere in Kikuyu, Meru
and Embu
; and as telele in Kamba. In Bantu regions of Uganda
it is known as doodo. It is recommended by some doctors for people having low red blood cell count
. It is also known among the Kalenjin as a drought
crop (chepkerta). In Lingala
(spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and the Republic of Congo), it is known as lɛngalɛnga or bítɛkutɛku. In Nigeria
, it is a common vegetable and goes with all Nigerian starch dishes. It is known in Yoruba
as efo tete or arowo jeja (meaning "we have money left over for fish"). In the Caribbean
, the leaves are called [bhaji in Trinidad) or(callaloo in Jamaica] and stewed with onions, garlic and tomatoes, or sometimes used in a soup called pepperpot soup.
In Greece
, green amaranth (Amaranthus viridis
) is a popular dish and is called vlita or vleeta. It's boiled, then served with olive oil
and lemon
like a salad
, usually alongside fried fish
. Greeks stop harvesting the plant (which usually grows wild) when it starts to bloom at the end of August.
In Sri Lanka, it is called "koora thampala". Sri Lankans cook it and eat it with rice. Fiji Indians call it choraiya bhaji.
(a tribe in the western United States) as the source of a deep red dye
. There is also a synthetic dye that has been named "amaranth" for its similarity in color to the natural amaranth pigment
s known as betalain
s. This synthetic dye is also known as Red No. 2 in North America and E123 in the European Union
.
(love-lies-bleeding), a native of India
and a vigorous, hardy annual with dark purplish flower
s crowded in handsome drooping spikes. Another Indian annual, A. hypochondriacus (prince's feather), has deeply veined lance-shaped leaves, purple on the under face, and deep crimson flowers densely packed on erect spikes.
Amaranths are recorded as food plants for some Lepidoptera
(butterfly
and moth
) species including the nutmeg moth
and various case-bearer moths of the genus Coleophora
: C. amaranthella, C. enchorda (feeds exclusively on Amaranthus), C. immortalis (feeds exclusively on Amaranthus), C. lineapulvella and C. versurella (recorded on A. spinosus).
); తోటకూర (Telugu
); Rajgira (Marathi
); முளைக் கீரை (Tamil
); cheera ചീര (Malayalam); bayam (Indonesian
); phak khom ผักโขม (Thai
); tampala, or quelite (Oriya
); Khada Saga, are a common leaf vegetable throughout the tropics and in many warm temperate regions.
Cooked amaranth leaves are a good source of vitamin A
, vitamin C
, and folate; they are also a complementing source of other vitamins such as thiamine
, niacin
, and riboflavin
, plus some dietary minerals including calcium
, iron
, potassium
, zinc
, copper
, and manganese
. Cooked amaranth grains are a complementing source of thiamine
, niacin
, riboflavin
, and folate, and dietary minerals including calcium
, iron
, magnesium
, phosphorus
, zinc
, copper
, and manganese
- comparable to common grains such as wheat germ, oats and others.
Amaranth seeds contain lysine
, an essential amino acid, limiting in other grains or plant sources. Most fruits and vegetables do not contain a complete set of amino acids, and thus different sources of protein must be used. Amaranth too is limiting in some essential amino acids, such as leucine
and threonine
. Amaranth seeds are therefore promising complement to common grains such as wheat germ, oats, corn because these common grains are abundant sources of essential amino acids found to be limited in amaranth.
Amaranth may be a promising source of protein to those who are gluten sensitive, because unlike the protein found in grains such as wheat and rye, its protein does not contain gluten
. According to a 2007 report, amaranth compares well in nutrient content with gluten-free vegetarian options such as buckwheat, corn, millet, wild rice, oats and quinoa.
Several studies have shown that like oats
, amaranth seed or oil may be of benefit for those with hypertension
and cardiovascular disease
; regular consumption reduces blood pressure
and cholesterol
levels, while improving antioxidant
status and some immune parameters. While the active ingredient in oats appears to be water-soluble fiber, amaranth appears to lower cholesterol via its content of plant stanols
and squalene
.
Amaranth remains an active area of scientific research for both human nutritional needs and foraging applications. Over 100 scientific studies suggest a somewhat conflicting picture on possible anti-nutritional
and toxic factors in amaranth, more so in some particular strains of amaranth. Lehmann, in a review article, identifies some of these reported anti-nutritional factors in amaranth to be phenolics, saponins, tannins, phytic acid, oxalates, protease inhibitors, nitrates, polyphenols and phytohemagglutinins. Of these, oxalates and nitrates are of more concern when amaranth grain is used in foraging applications. Some studies suggest thermal processing of amaranth, particularly in moist environment, prior to its preparation in food and human consumption may be a promising way to reduce the adverse effects of amaranth's anti-nutritional and toxic factors.
A one-to-one comparison of cooked amaranth with cooked wild rice and with whole grain wheat flour suggests:
, reduction in herbicidal use and the evolution of herbicidal resistance in several species where herbicides have been applied more often. The following 9 species of Amaranthus are considered invasive and noxious weeds in the U.S and Canada: A. albus, A. blitoides, A. hybridus, A. palmeri, A. powellii, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus, A. tuberculatus, and A. viridis.
A new herbicide-resistant strain of Amaranthus palmeri
or Palmer amaranth has appeared; it is Glyphosate-resistant and so cannot be killed by the widely used Roundup herbicide. Also, this plant can survive in tough conditions. This could be of particular concern to cotton
farmers using Roundup Ready cotton. The species Amaranthus palmeri (Palmer amaranth) causes the greatest reduction in soybean
yields and has the potential to reduce yields by 17-68% in field experiments. Palmer amaranth is among the “top five most troublesome weeds” in the southeast and has already evolved resistances to dinitroanilines and acetolactate synthase inhibitors. This makes the proper identification of Amaranthus species at the seedling stage essential for agriculturalists. Proper weed control needs to be applied before the species successfully colonizes in the crop field and causes significant yield reductions.
, as well as a companion plant, serving as a trap for leaf miners and some other pests, as well as sheltering ground beetles (which prey upon insect pests) and breaking up hard soil for more delicate neighboring plants.
word amarantos, meaning "unwithering". The word was applied to amaranth because it did not soon fade and so symbolized immortality. "Amarant" is a more correct, albeit archaic form, chiefly used in poetry. The current spelling, amaranth, seems to have come from folk etymology that assumed the final syllable derived from the Greek word anthos ("flower"), common in botanical names.
Aesop's Fables
(6th century BC) compares the rose to the amaranth to illustrate the difference in fleeting and everlasting beauty:
Or in story form:
Thus, in John Milton's
epic poem Paradise Lost
(1667), iii. 353:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
, in Work Without Hope (1825), also refers to the herb, likely referencing Milton's earlier work. (ll 7-10 excerpted):
There are no fields of amaranth on this side of the grave: there are no voices, O Rhodopè, that are not soon mute, however tuneful: there is no name, with whatever emphasis of passionate love repeated, of which the echo is not faint at last.
Joachim du Bellay
mentioned the herb in his "A Vow To Heavenly Venus," ca. 1500.
In ancient Greece
, the amaranth (also called chrysanthemum
and helichrysum) was sacred to Ephesian Artemis
. It was supposed to have special healing properties, and, as a symbol of immortality, was used to decorate images of the gods and tomb
s. In legend, Amarynthus
(a form of Amarantus) was a hunter of Artemis and king of Euboea
; in a village of Amarynthus, of which he was the eponymous hero, there was a famous temple of Artemis Amarynthia or Amarysia (Strabo x. 448; Pausan. i. 31, p. 5). It was also widely used by the Chinese for its healing chemicals, curing illnesses such as infections, rashes, and migraines. The "Amarantos" is the name of a several-century-old popular Greek folk song:
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of herbs. Approximately 60 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
are recognized, with inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s 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
Celosia
Celosia is a small genus of edible and ornamental plants in the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word κηλος , meaning "burned," and refers to the flame-like flower heads. Species are commonly known as woolflowers, or, if the flower heads are crested by...
.
Although several species are often considered weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
s, people around the world value amaranths as leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetable
Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, green vegetables, greens, leafy greens or salad greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots...
s, cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, and ornamentals
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
.
The ultimate root of "amaranth" is the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
(amarantos) "unfading" with the Greek word for "flower" ἄνθος (anthos) factoring into the word's development as "amaranth" - the more correct "amarant" is an archaic variant.
Systematics
Amaranthus shows a wide variety of morphological diversity among and even within certain species. Although the family (AmaranthaceaeAmaranthaceae
The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 176 genera and 2,400 species.- Description :Most of these species are herbs or subshrubs; very few are trees or climbers. Some species are succulent....
) is distinctive, the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
has few distinguishing characters among the 70 species included. This complicates taxonomy
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
and Amaranthus has generally been considered among systematists as a "difficult" genus.
Formerly, Sauer (1955) classified the genus into 2 sub-genera, differentiating only between monoecious and dioecious species: Acnida (L.) Aellen ex K.R. Robertson and Amaranthus. Although this classification was widely accepted, further infrageneric classification was (and still is) needed to differentiate this widely diverse group.
Currently, Amaranthus includes 3 recognized sub-genera and 70 species, although species numbers are questionable due to hybridization and species concepts. Infrageneric classification focuses on inflorescence, flower characters and whether a species is monoecious/dioecious, as in the Sauer (1955) suggested classification. A modified infrageneric classification of Amaranthus was published by Mosyakin & Robertson (1996) and includes 3 subgenera: Acnida, Amaranthus, and Albersia. The taxonomy is further differentiated by sections within each of the sub-genera.
Species
- Amaranthus acanthochitonAmaranthus acanthochitonAmaranthus acanthochiton , is an annual plant species of the genus Amaranthus in the Amaranthaceae family. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico , growing at altitudes of 1000-2000 m where it is uncommon.It is a dioecious plant growing to 10-80 cm tall...
– greenstripe - Amaranthus acutilobus – sharp-lobe amaranth; is a synonym of Amaranthus viridisAmaranthus viridisAmaranthus viridis is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as Slender Amaranth or Green Amaranth.-Gastronomy:...
- Amaranthus albusAmaranthus albusAmaranthus albus is an annual species of flowering plant. It is native to the tropical Americas but a widespread introduced species in other places, including Europe, Africa, and Australia...
– white pigweed, prostrate pigweed, pigweed amaranth - Amaranthus arenicolaAmaranthus arenicolaAmaranthus arenicola, commonly called sand amaranth or sandhill amaranth, is a plant species found in many states of the contiguous United States. It is an annual species found in sandy areas, near riverbeds, lakes, and fields...
– sandhill amaranth - Amaranthus australisAmaranthus australisAmaranthus australis is also known as southern amaranth or southern water-hemp. The plant usually grows from 1 to 3 m in height, though some have been known to grow up to 9 m high. The stems can be up to 30 cm in diameter. It is a herbaceous annual. It is found in many Southern states,...
– southern amaranth - Amaranthus bigeloviiAmaranthus bigeloviiAmaranthus bigelovii is a plant species commonly known as Bigelow's amaranth. It is an annual native to New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana....
– Bigelow's amaranth - Amaranthus blitoidesAmaranthus blitoidesAmaranthus blitoides, commonly called Prostrate amaranth, Matweed, or Mat amaranth, is a glabrous annual plants species. It usually grows up to 0.6 m, though it may grow up to 1 m...
– mat amaranth, prostrate amaranth, prostrate pigweed - Amaranthus blitumAmaranthus blitumAmaranthus blitum, commonly called purple amaranth is an annual plant species in economically important plant family Amaranthaceae....
– purple amaranth - Amaranthus browniiAmaranthus browniiAmaranthus brownii is an annual herb in the Amaranthaceae family. The plant is found only on the small island of Nihoa in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, growing on rocky outcrops at altitudes of . It is one of nine species of Amaranthus in the Hawaiian Islands, but the only endemic Hawaiian...
– Brown's amaranth - Amaranthus californicusAmaranthus californicusAmaranthus californicus is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name California amaranth. It is a glabrous monoecious annual that is native to most of the western United States and Canada. The plant grows from 10 to 50 centimeters tall. It is found in moist...
– California amaranth, California pigweed - Amaranthus cannabinusAmaranthus cannabinusAmaranthus cannabinus is also known as salt marsh water hemp or salt marsh pigweed. It is a herbaceous perennial found in most of the eastern United States. It grows from 1 to 3 m in height. It is often mistaken for Amaranthus australis....
– tidal-marsh amaranth - Amaranthus caudatusAmaranthus caudatusAmaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, love-lies-a'bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and quelite...
– love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, quilete - Amaranthus chihuahuensisAmaranthus chihuahuensisAmaranthus chihuahuensis is known as Chihuahuan amaranth. It is not native to the United States. It is found in Oaxaca and Chihuahua in Mexico. Some reports have suggested that it is present in lower Texas, but further evidence is necessary. Its taxonomic identity is considered to be unsure....
– chihuahuan amaranth - Amaranthus chlorostachysAmaranthus chlorostachysAmaranthus chlorostachys is a species of flowering plant. It has been suggested that it is a subspecies of Amaranthus hybridus. It is present in Pakistan.-References:*...
- Amaranthus crassipesAmaranthus crassipesAmaranthus crassipes, also known as spreading amaranth, is a glabrous annual plant that is both native and introduced in the United States. In the U.S., it is found in New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, South Carolina, and Louisiana. It is also found in Mexico, the West Indies, and South...
– spreading amaranth - Amaranthus crispusAmaranthus crispusAmaranthus crispus is also known as crisp amaranth. It is a herbaceous, sparsely pubescent annual. It can grow up to 0.5 m in height....
– crispleaf amaranth - Amaranthus cruentusAmaranthus cruentusAmaranthus cruentus is a common flowering plant species that yields the nutritious staple amaranth grain. It is one of three Amaranthus species cultivated as a grain source, the other two being Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus caudatus...
– purple amaranth, red amaranth, Mexican grain amaranth - Amaranthus deflexusAmaranthus deflexusAmaranthus deflexus is also known by the common names large-fruit amaranth, low amaranth, and Argentina amaranth, since it is native to South America. It is a short-lived perennial or annual plant. The plant can grow up to 1.5 ft in height.It flowers in the summer to fall, and was introduced...
– large-fruit amaranth - Amaranthus dubiusAmaranthus dubiusRed spinach, Rau Den, Chinese spinach, Hon-toi-moi, Yin choy, Hsien tsai or Spleen amaranth belongs to the economically important plant family Amaranthaceae.-Distribution:...
– spleen amaranth, khada sag - Amaranthus fimbriatusAmaranthus fimbriatusAmaranthus fimbriatus is a species of glabrous flowering plant. It is also known by common names such as Fringed Amaranth or Fringed Pigweed. The plant can often grow up to 0.7 m in height. The flower is greenish to maroon....
– fringed amaranth, fringed pigweed - Amaranthus floridanusAmaranthus floridanusAmaranthus floridanus is a flowering plant that can grow up to 1.5 m in height. It flowers from late spring to fall, and is found in Florida. It usually grows in moist places, near dunes, swamps, marshes, or in disturbed habitats.-References:...
– Florida amaranth - Amaranthus gangeticus – elephant head amaranth
- Amaranthus graecizansAmaranthus graecizansAmaranthus graecizans is an African species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae. It is naturalized in North America.Common names include tumbleweed and pigweed. page 27The edible leaves are used as a vegetable throughout Africa....
- Amaranthus greggiiAmaranthus greggiiAmaranthus greggii is also known as Gregg's amaranth or Josiah amaranth. It is a glabrous annual flowering plant native to Texas, Louisiana, and Mexico. The plant can grow up to 1 m in height. It is found in sand dunes and near sea beaches....
– Gregg's amaranth - Amaranthus hybridusAmaranthus hybridusAmaranthus hybridus, commonly called Smooth Amaranth, Smooth Pigweed, Red Amaranth, or Slim Amaranth, is a species of annual flowering plant. It is a weedy species found now over much of North America and introduced into Europe and Eurasia.-Description:A. hybridus grows from a short taproot and can...
– smooth amaranth, smooth pigweed, red amaranth - Amaranthus hypochondriacusAmaranthus hypochondriacusAmaranthus hypochondriacus is an ornamental plant commonly known as the Prince-of-Wales-feather or the Prince's feather. It is originally from Mexico where it is endemic where it is called Quelite, Blero. and Quintonil...
– Prince-of-Wales-feather, princess feather - Amaranthus leucocarpus
- Amaranthus lineatus – Australian amaranth
- Amaranthus lividus
- Amaranthus mantegazzianusAmaranthus mantegazzianusAmaranthus mantegazzianus is a species of flowering plant. It goes by the common name of Quinoa de Castilla....
– Quinoa de Castilla - Amaranthus minimus
- Amaranthus muricatus – African amaranth
- Amaranthus obcordatus – Trans-Pecos amaranth
- Amaranthus oleraceous – Kosala Sag
- Amaranthus palmeriAmaranthus palmeriAmaranthus palmeri is a species of edible flowering plant in the amaranth genus. It has several common names, including Palmer's amaranth, Palmer amaranth, Palmer's pigweed, and carelessweed. It is native to most of the southern half of North America. Populations in the eastern United States are...
– Palmer's amaranth, palmer pigweed, careless weed - Amaranthus paniculus – Reuzen amarant
- Amaranthus polygonoidesAmaranthus polygonoidesAmaranthus polygonoides is a species of flowering plant. It goes by the common name of Tropical Amaranth....
– tropical amaranth - Amaranthus powelliiAmaranthus powelliiAmaranthus powellii is a species of amaranth known by the common names Powell's amaranth and green amaranth. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, but it is common throughout most of the rest of the temperate Americas as a naturalized species. It has also been...
– green amaranth, Powell amaranth, Powell pigweed - Amaranthus pringlei – Pringle's amaranth
- Amaranthus pumilusAmaranthus pumilusAmaranthus pumilus, the seaside amaranth or seabeach amaranth, is a species of amaranth. This annual plant is now a threatened species, although it was formerly scattered along the eastern coast of the United States, its native range....
– seaside amaranth - Amaranthus quitensisAmaranthus quitensisAmaranthus quitensis is a species of flowering plant. It goes by common names such as Ataco, Sangorache.Ataco is used by shamanes in Ecuador to treat epilepsy...
– ataco, sangorache - Amaranthus retroflexusAmaranthus retroflexusAmaranthus retroflexus is a species of flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae family with several common names, including Red-root Amaranth, Redroot Pigweed, Red Rooted Pigweed, Common Amaranth, and common tumble weed....
– red-root amaranth, redroot pigweed, common amaranth - Amaranthus rudis – tall amaranth, common waterhemp
- Amaranthus scleropoides – bone-bract amaranth
- Amaranthus spinosusAmaranthus spinosusAmaranthus spinosus, commonly known as the spiny amaranth, prickly amaranth or thorny amaranth. It is native to the tropical Americas, but it is present on most continents as an introduced species and sometimes a noxious weed. It can be a serious weed of rice cultivation in Asia...
– spiny amaranth, prickly amaranth, thorny amaranth - Amaranthus standleyanus
- Amaranthus thunbergiiAmaranthus thunbergiiAmaranthus thunbergii, commonly known as Thunberg's amaranth, is found in Africa.The leaves are used as a flavouring or leafy vegetable.-External links:*...
– Thunberg's amaranth - Amaranthus torreyiAmaranthus torreyiAmaranthus torreyi is a species of flowering plant. Its common name is Torrey's Amaranth. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.-External links:****...
– Torrey's amaranth - Amaranthus tricolorAmaranthus tricolorAmaranthus tricolor is an ornamental plant known as Bhaji in India, Callaloo in the Caribbean and Joseph's coat after the Biblical figure Joseph, who is said to have worn a coat of many colors...
– Joseph's-coat - Amaranthus tuberculatusAmaranthus tuberculatusAmaranthus tuberculatus, commonly known as tall waterhemp or roughfruit amaranth, is a species of flowering plant. It is a summer annual broadleaf with a germination period that lasts several months...
– rough-fruit amaranth, tall waterhemp - Amaranthus viridisAmaranthus viridisAmaranthus viridis is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as Slender Amaranth or Green Amaranth.-Gastronomy:...
– slender amaranth, green amaranth - Amaranthus watsoniiAmaranthus watsoniiAmaranthus watsonii is a species of amaranth known by the common name Watson's amaranth. It is native to the southwestern United States and northern Mexico, where it grows in sandy places such as deserts and beaches, and disturbed areas. It is also known as a rare introduced species in parts of...
– Watson's amaranth - Amaranthus wrightiiAmaranthus wrightiiAmaranthus wrightii is a species of flowering plant. It goes by the common name of Wright's Amaranth....
– Wright's amaranth
Amaranth seed
Several species are raised for amaranth "grain" in AsiaAsia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
. This should more correctly be termed "pseudograin" (see below). Amaranth grain
Amaranth grain
Amaranth has been cultivated as a grain for 8,000 years. The yield of grain amaranth is comparable to rice or maize. It was a staple food of the Aztecs, and was used as an integral part of Aztec religious ceremonies. The cultivation of amaranth was banned by the conquistadores upon their conquest...
contains no gluten and is safe to consume for individuals with coeliac disease
Coeliac disease
Coeliac disease , is an autoimmune disorder of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed people of all ages from middle infancy onward...
.
Ancient amaranth grains still used to this day include the three species, Amaranthus caudatus
Amaranthus caudatus
Amaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, love-lies-a'bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and quelite...
, Amaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus cruentus is a common flowering plant species that yields the nutritious staple amaranth grain. It is one of three Amaranthus species cultivated as a grain source, the other two being Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus caudatus...
, and Amaranthus hypochondriacus
Amaranthus hypochondriacus
Amaranthus hypochondriacus is an ornamental plant commonly known as the Prince-of-Wales-feather or the Prince's feather. It is originally from Mexico where it is endemic where it is called Quelite, Blero. and Quintonil...
. 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
Science (journal)
Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
, amaranth was described as "the crop of the future." 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, and
- Its seeds are a good source of protein, rich in essential amino acids such as lysineLysineLysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
, while being a poor source of essential amino acids such as leucineLeucineLeucine is a branched-chain α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2. Leucine is classified as a hydrophobic amino acid due to its aliphatic isobutyl side chain. It is encoded by six codons and is a major component of the subunits in ferritin, astacin and other 'buffer' proteins...
and threonineThreonineThreonine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCHCH3. Its codons are ACU, ACA, ACC, and ACG. This essential amino acid is classified as polar...
. Common grains such as wheat and corn are rich in amino acids that amaranth lacks; thus, amaranth and other grains can complement each other. - The seeds of Amaranthus species contain about thirty percent more protein than cereals like rice, sorghum and rye. In cooked and edible forms, amaranth is competitive with wheat germ and oats - higher in some nutrients, lower in others.
- 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.
Kiwicha, as amaranth is known today in the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
, was one of the staple foodstuffs of the Incas. Known to the Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
s as huautli, it is thought to have represented up to 80% of their caloric consumption before the conquest. Another important use of amaranth throughout Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a region and culture area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and...
was to prepare ritual drinks and foods.
To this day, amaranth grains are toasted much like popcorn
Popcorn
Popcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
and mixed with honey
Honey
Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
, molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
or chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
to make a treat called alegría, meaning "joy" in Spanish.
Diego Duran
Diego Durán
Diego Durán was a Dominican friar best known for his authorship of one of the earliest Western books on the history and culture of the Aztecs, The History of the Indies of New Spain, a book that was much criticized in his lifetime for helping the "heathen" maintain their culture.Also known as the...
described the festivities for Huitzilopochtli
Huitzilopochtli
In Aztec mythology, Huitzilopochtli, also spelled Uitzilopochtli , was a god of war, a sun god, and the patron of the city of Tenochtitlan. He was also the national god of the Mexicas of Tenochtitlan.- Genealogy :...
, a blue hummingbird god. (Real hummingbirds feed on amaranth flowers.) The Aztec month of Panquetzaliztli
Aztec calendar
The Aztec calendar is the calendar system that was used by the Aztecs as well as other Pre-Columbian peoples of central Mexico. It is one of the Mesoamerican calendars, sharing the basic structure of calendars from throughout ancient Mesoamerica....
(7 December to 26 December) was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli. People decorated their homes and trees with paper flags; there were ritual races, processions, dances, songs, prayers, and finally human sacrifices. This was one of the more important Aztec festivals, and the people prepared for the whole month. They fasted or ate very little; a statue of the god was made out of amaranth (huautli) seeds and honey, and at the end of the month, it was cut into small pieces so everybody could eat a little piece of the god. After the Spanish conquest, cultivation of amaranth was outlawed, while some of the festivities were subsumed into the Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
celebration.
Because of its importance as a symbol of indigenous culture, and because it is very palatable, easy to cook, and its protein particularly well suited to human nutritional needs, interest in grain amaranth (especially A. cruentus and A. hypochondriacus) revived in the 1970s. It was recovered in Mexico from wild varieties and is now commercially cultivated. It is a popular snack sold in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and other parts of Mexico, sometimes mixed with chocolate
Chocolate
Chocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
or puffed rice
Puffed grain
Puffed grain includes ancient puffed grains like popcorn as well as puffed rice. Modern puffed grains are often created using high temperature, pressure, and/or extrusion....
, and its use has spread to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and parts of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Amaranth and quinoa
Quinoa
Quinoa , a species of goosefoot , is a grain-like crop grown primarily for its edible seeds. It is a pseudocereal rather than a true cereal, or grain, as it is not a member of the grass family...
are called pseudograins because of their flavor and cooking similarities to grains. These are dicot plant seeds, and both contain exceptionally complete protein
Complete protein
A complete protein is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the dietary needs of humans or other animals...
for plant sources. Besides protein
Protein
Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...
, amaranth grain
Amaranth grain
Amaranth has been cultivated as a grain for 8,000 years. The yield of grain amaranth is comparable to rice or maize. It was a staple food of the Aztecs, and was used as an integral part of Aztec religious ceremonies. The cultivation of amaranth was banned by the conquistadores upon their conquest...
provides a good source of dietary fiber
Dietary fiber
Dietary fiber, dietary fibre, or sometimes roughage is the indigestible portion of plant foods having two main components:* soluble fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts, and* insoluble fiber that is metabolically inert, absorbing water as it...
and dietary mineral
Dietary mineral
Dietary minerals are the chemical elements required by living organisms, other than the four elements carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen present in common organic molecules. Examples of mineral elements include calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, zinc, and iodine...
s such as iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, and especially manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
.
Scientific studies suggest Amaranth grain is a good source of essential amino acid lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
, something other grains are low in. Amaranth is not a complete source of essential amino acid
Essential amino acid
An essential amino acid or indispensable amino acid is an amino acid that cannot be synthesized de novo by the organism , and therefore must be supplied in the diet.-Essentiality vs. conditional essentiality in humans:...
s. For example, amaranth is limiting in leucine
Leucine
Leucine is a branched-chain α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2. Leucine is classified as a hydrophobic amino acid due to its aliphatic isobutyl side chain. It is encoded by six codons and is a major component of the subunits in ferritin, astacin and other 'buffer' proteins...
and threonine
Threonine
Threonine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCHCH3. Its codons are ACU, ACA, ACC, and ACG. This essential amino acid is classified as polar...
- essential amino acids that are abundant in other grains. Amaranth may therefore be a promising supplement to other grains.
Amaranth seed flour has been evaluated as an additive to wheat flour by food specialists. To determine palatability, different levels of amaranth grain flour were mixed with the wheat flour and baking ingredients (1% salt, 2.5% fat, 1.5% yeast, 10% sugar and 52–74% water), fermented, molded, pan-proved and baked. The baked products were evaluated for loaf volume, moisture content, color, odor, taste and texture. The amaranth containing products were then compared with bread made from 100% wheat flour. The loaf volume decreased by 40% and the moisture content increased from 22 to 42% with increase in amaranth grain flour. The study found that the sensory scores of the taste, odor color and texture decreased with increasing amounts of amaranth. Generally, above 15% amaranth grain flour, there were significant differences in the evaluated sensory qualities and the high amaranth-containing product was found to be of unacceptable palatability to the population sample that evaluated the baked products.
Amaranth grain is a crop of moderate importance in the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
.
Leaves, roots, and stems
Amaranth species are cultivated and consumed as a leaf vegetable in many parts of the world. There are four species of Amaranthus documented as cultivated vegetables in eastern Asia: Amaranthus cruentusAmaranthus cruentus
Amaranthus cruentus is a common flowering plant species that yields the nutritious staple amaranth grain. It is one of three Amaranthus species cultivated as a grain source, the other two being Amaranthus hypochondriacus and Amaranthus caudatus...
, Amaranthus blitum
Amaranthus blitum
Amaranthus blitum, commonly called purple amaranth is an annual plant species in economically important plant family Amaranthaceae....
, Amaranthus dubius
Amaranthus dubius
Red spinach, Rau Den, Chinese spinach, Hon-toi-moi, Yin choy, Hsien tsai or Spleen amaranth belongs to the economically important plant family Amaranthaceae.-Distribution:...
, and Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranthus tricolor
Amaranthus tricolor is an ornamental plant known as Bhaji in India, Callaloo in the Caribbean and Joseph's coat after the Biblical figure Joseph, who is said to have worn a coat of many colors...
.
In Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and Malaysia, leaf amaranth is called bayam, while the Tagalogs in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
call the plant alocon. In the state of Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, it is called Chaulai and is a popular green leafy vegetable (referred to in the class of vegetable preparations called Saag). It is called Chua in Kumaun area of Uttarakhand, where it is a popular red-green vegetable. In Karnataka state in India it is used to prepare curries like Hulee, palya, Majjigay-hulee and so on. In the state of Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, it's called 'Cheera' and is consumed by stir-frying the leaves with spices and red chillies to make 'Cheera Thoran'. In Tamilnadu State, it is called முளைக்கீரை and is regularly consumed as a favourite dish, where the greens are steamed, and mashed, with light seasoning of salt, red chillis and cumin. It is called keerai masial (கீரை மசியல்). In Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, this leaf is added in preparation of a popular dal
Dal
Dal is a preparation of pulses which have been stripped of their outer hulls and split. It also refers to the thick stew prepared from these, an important part of Indian, Nepali, Pakistani, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi cuisine...
called thotakura pappu తొట కూర పప్పు (Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
). In Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, it is called as "Shravani Maath" (literally माठ grown in month of Shravan) and it is available in both red and white colour. In Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, it is called as "Khada saga", it is used to prepare 'Saga Bhaja', in which the leaf is fried with chillies and onions.
The root of mature amaranth is an excellent vegetable. It is white and cooked with tomatoes or tamarind gravy. It has a milky taste and is alkaline.
In China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, the leaves and stems are used as a stir-fry vegetable, or in soups, and called yin choi (苋菜; pinyin: xiàncài; and variations on this transliteration in various dialects). Amaranth greens are believed to help enhance eyesight. In Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, it is called rau dền and is used to make soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
. There are two species popular as edible vegetable in Vietnam: dền đỏ- amaranthus tricolor and dền cơm or dền trắng- amaranthus viridis.
A traditional food plant in Africa, amaranth has the potential to improve nutrition, boost food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.
In East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
, Amaranth leaf is known in chewa as bonongwe, and in Swahili
Swahili language
Swahili or Kiswahili is a Bantu language spoken by various ethnic groups that inhabit several large stretches of the Mozambique Channel coastline from northern Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoro Islands. It is also spoken by ethnic minority groups in Somalia...
as mchicha, as terere in Kikuyu, Meru
Meru language
Meru is the language spoken by the Meru people who live on the Eastern and Northern slopes of Mount Kenya, Kenya, Africa and on the Nyambene ranges. They settled in this area after centuries of migration from the north.-Tradition:...
and Embu
Embu language
Kîembu is a Bantu language of Kenya and spoken by the Aembu or Embu people. ISO 639-3 code is ebu....
; and as telele in Kamba. In Bantu regions of Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
it is known as doodo. It is recommended by some doctors for people having low red blood cell count
Hematocrit
The hematocrit or packed cell volume or erythrocyte volume fraction is the percentage of the concentration of red blood cells in blood. It is normally about 45% for men and 40% for women...
. It is also known among the Kalenjin as a drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
crop (chepkerta). In Lingala
Lingala language
Lingala, or Ngala, is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo , as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. It has over 10 million speakers...
(spoken in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
and the Republic of Congo), it is known as lɛngalɛnga or bítɛkutɛku. In Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, it is a common vegetable and goes with all Nigerian starch dishes. It is known in Yoruba
Yoruba language
Yorùbá is a Niger–Congo language spoken in West Africa by approximately 20 million speakers. The native tongue of the Yoruba people, it is spoken, among other languages, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo and in communities in other parts of Africa, Europe and the Americas...
as efo tete or arowo jeja (meaning "we have money left over for fish"). In the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, the leaves are called [bhaji in Trinidad) or(callaloo in Jamaica] and stewed with onions, garlic and tomatoes, or sometimes used in a soup called pepperpot soup.
In Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, green amaranth (Amaranthus viridis
Amaranthus viridis
Amaranthus viridis is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as Slender Amaranth or Green Amaranth.-Gastronomy:...
) is a popular dish and is called vlita or vleeta. It's boiled, then served with olive oil
Olive oil
Olive oil is an oil obtained from the olive , a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin. It is commonly used in cooking, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and soaps and as a fuel for traditional oil lamps...
and lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
like a salad
Salad
Salad is any of a wide variety of dishes, including vegetable salads; salads of pasta, legumes, eggs, or grains; mixed salads incorporating meat, poultry, or seafood; and fruit salads. They may include a mixture of cold and hot, often including raw vegetables or fruits.Green salads include leaf...
, usually alongside fried fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
. Greeks stop harvesting the plant (which usually grows wild) when it starts to bloom at the end of August.
In Sri Lanka, it is called "koora thampala". Sri Lankans cook it and eat it with rice. Fiji Indians call it choraiya bhaji.
Dyes
The flowers of the 'Hopi Red Dye' amaranth were used by the HopiHopi
The Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
(a tribe in the western United States) as the source of a deep red dye
Natural dye
Natural dyes are dyes or colorants derived from plants, invertebrates, or minerals. The majority of natural dyes are vegetable dyes from plant sources – roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood — and other organic sources such as fungi and lichens....
. There is also a synthetic dye that has been named "amaranth" for its similarity in color to the natural amaranth pigment
Pigment
A pigment is a material that changes the color of reflected or transmitted light as the result of wavelength-selective absorption. This physical process differs from fluorescence, phosphorescence, and other forms of luminescence, in which a material emits light.Many materials selectively absorb...
s known as betalain
Betalain
Betalains are a class of red and yellow indole-derived pigments found in plants of the Caryophyllales, where they replace anthocyanin pigments. Betalains also occur in some higher order fungi. They are most often noticeable in the petals of flowers, but may color the fruits, leaves, stems, and...
s. This synthetic dye is also known as Red No. 2 in North America and E123 in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
.
Ornamentals
The genus also contains several well-known ornamental plants, such as Amaranthus caudatusAmaranthus caudatus
Amaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, love-lies-a'bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and quelite...
(love-lies-bleeding), a native of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and a vigorous, hardy annual with dark purplish flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s crowded in handsome drooping spikes. Another Indian annual, A. hypochondriacus (prince's feather), has deeply veined lance-shaped leaves, purple on the under face, and deep crimson flowers densely packed on erect spikes.
Amaranths are recorded as food plants for some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
(butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
and moth
Moth
A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...
) species including the nutmeg moth
Nutmeg (moth)
The nutmeg , also known as the clover cutworm, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It is found throughout Europe although in the north of its range it is a summer migrant, not being able to survive the cold winters.This is a small to medium species with cryptically coloured forewings, varying from...
and various case-bearer moths of the genus Coleophora
Coleophora
Coleophora is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions...
: C. amaranthella, C. enchorda (feeds exclusively on Amaranthus), C. immortalis (feeds exclusively on Amaranthus), C. lineapulvella and C. versurella (recorded on A. spinosus).
Nutritional value
Amaranth greens, also called Chau lai (Hindi) and Chu or Chua (Kumauni), Chinese spinach, hinn choy or yin tsoi ; callaloo, dhantinasoppu (KannadaKannada language
Kannada or , is a language spoken in India predominantly in the state of Karnataka. Kannada, whose native speakers are called Kannadigas and number roughly 50 million, is one of the 30 most spoken languages in the world...
); తోటకూర (Telugu
Telugu language
Telugu is a Central Dravidian language primarily spoken in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, where it is an official language. It is also spoken in the neighbouring states of Chattisgarh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa and Tamil Nadu...
); Rajgira (Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
); முளைக் கீரை (Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
); cheera ചീര (Malayalam); bayam (Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
); phak khom ผักโขม (Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
); tampala, or quelite (Oriya
Oriya language
Oriya , officially Odia from November, 2011, is an Indian language, belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European language family. It is mainly spoken in the Indian states of Orissa and West Bengal...
); Khada Saga, are a common leaf vegetable throughout the tropics and in many warm temperate regions.
Cooked amaranth leaves are a good source of vitamin A
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is a vitamin that is needed by the retina of the eye in the form of a specific metabolite, the light-absorbing molecule retinal, that is necessary for both low-light and color vision...
, vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
, and folate; they are also a complementing source of other vitamins such as thiamine
Thiamine
Thiamine or thiamin or vitamin B1 , named as the "thio-vitamine" is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. First named aneurin for the detrimental neurological effects if not present in the diet, it was eventually assigned the generic descriptor name vitamin B1. Its phosphate derivatives are...
, niacin
Niacin
"Niacin" redirects here. For the neo-fusion band, see Niacin .Niacin is an organic compound with the formula and, depending on the definition used, one of the forty to eighty essential human nutrients.Niacin is one of five vitamins associated with a pandemic deficiency disease: niacin deficiency...
, and riboflavin
Riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 or additive E101, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a...
, plus some dietary minerals including calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, potassium
Potassium
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K and atomic number 19. Elemental potassium is a soft silvery-white alkali metal that oxidizes rapidly in air and is very reactive with water, generating sufficient heat to ignite the hydrogen emitted in the reaction.Potassium and sodium are...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, and manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
. Cooked amaranth grains are a complementing source of thiamine
Thiamine
Thiamine or thiamin or vitamin B1 , named as the "thio-vitamine" is a water-soluble vitamin of the B complex. First named aneurin for the detrimental neurological effects if not present in the diet, it was eventually assigned the generic descriptor name vitamin B1. Its phosphate derivatives are...
, niacin
Niacin
"Niacin" redirects here. For the neo-fusion band, see Niacin .Niacin is an organic compound with the formula and, depending on the definition used, one of the forty to eighty essential human nutrients.Niacin is one of five vitamins associated with a pandemic deficiency disease: niacin deficiency...
, riboflavin
Riboflavin
Riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2 or additive E101, is an easily absorbed micronutrient with a key role in maintaining health in humans and animals. It is the central component of the cofactors FAD and FMN, and is therefore required by all flavoproteins. As such, vitamin B2 is required for a...
, and folate, and dietary minerals including calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
, iron
Iron
Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series. It is the most common element forming the planet Earth as a whole, forming much of Earth's outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earth's crust...
, magnesium
Magnesium
Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg, atomic number 12, and common oxidation number +2. It is an alkaline earth metal and the eighth most abundant element in the Earth's crust and ninth in the known universe as a whole...
, phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, and manganese
Manganese
Manganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
- comparable to common grains such as wheat germ, oats and others.
Amaranth seeds contain lysine
Lysine
Lysine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCH4NH2. It is an essential amino acid, which means that the human body cannot synthesize it. Its codons are AAA and AAG....
, an essential amino acid, limiting in other grains or plant sources. Most fruits and vegetables do not contain a complete set of amino acids, and thus different sources of protein must be used. Amaranth too is limiting in some essential amino acids, such as leucine
Leucine
Leucine is a branched-chain α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCH2CH2. Leucine is classified as a hydrophobic amino acid due to its aliphatic isobutyl side chain. It is encoded by six codons and is a major component of the subunits in ferritin, astacin and other 'buffer' proteins...
and threonine
Threonine
Threonine is an α-amino acid with the chemical formula HO2CCHCHCH3. Its codons are ACU, ACA, ACC, and ACG. This essential amino acid is classified as polar...
. Amaranth seeds are therefore promising complement to common grains such as wheat germ, oats, corn because these common grains are abundant sources of essential amino acids found to be limited in amaranth.
Amaranth may be a promising source of protein to those who are gluten sensitive, because unlike the protein found in grains such as wheat and rye, its protein does not contain gluten
Gluten
Gluten is a protein composite found in foods processed from wheat and related grain species, including barley and rye...
. According to a 2007 report, amaranth compares well in nutrient content with gluten-free vegetarian options such as buckwheat, corn, millet, wild rice, oats and quinoa.
Several studies have shown that like oats
OATS
OATS - Open Source Assistive Technology Software - is a source code repository or "forge" for assistive technology software. It was launched in 2006 with the goal to provide a one-stop “shop” for end users, clinicians and open-source developers to promote and develop open source assistive...
, amaranth seed or oil may be of benefit for those with hypertension
Hypertension
Hypertension or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. What that means is that the heart is having to work harder than it should to pump the blood around the body. Blood pressure involves two measurements, systolic and...
and cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease
Heart disease or cardiovascular disease are the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the cardiovascular system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis...
; regular consumption reduces blood pressure
Blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by circulating blood upon the walls of blood vessels, and is one of the principal vital signs. When used without further specification, "blood pressure" usually refers to the arterial pressure of the systemic circulation. During each heartbeat, BP varies...
and cholesterol
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a complex isoprenoid. Specifically, it is a waxy steroid of fat that is produced in the liver or intestines. It is used to produce hormones and cell membranes and is transported in the blood plasma of all mammals. It is an essential structural component of mammalian cell membranes...
levels, while improving antioxidant
Antioxidant
An antioxidant is a molecule capable of inhibiting the oxidation of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons or hydrogen from a substance to an oxidizing agent. Oxidation reactions can produce free radicals. In turn, these radicals can start chain reactions. When...
status and some immune parameters. While the active ingredient in oats appears to be water-soluble fiber, amaranth appears to lower cholesterol via its content of plant stanols
Stanol ester
Stanol ester is a heterogeneous group of chemical compounds known to reduce the level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in blood when ingested, though to a much lesser degree than prescription drugs such as statins. The starting material is phytosterols from plants...
and squalene
Squalene
Squalene is a natural organic compound originally obtained for commercial purposes primarily from shark liver oil, though plant sources are used as well, including amaranth seed, rice bran, wheat germ, and olives. All plants and animals produce squalene, including humans...
.
Amaranth remains an active area of scientific research for both human nutritional needs and foraging applications. Over 100 scientific studies suggest a somewhat conflicting picture on possible anti-nutritional
Antinutrient
Antinutrients are natural or synthetic compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. Nutrition studies focus on those antinutrients commonly found in food sources and beverages....
and toxic factors in amaranth, more so in some particular strains of amaranth. Lehmann, in a review article, identifies some of these reported anti-nutritional factors in amaranth to be phenolics, saponins, tannins, phytic acid, oxalates, protease inhibitors, nitrates, polyphenols and phytohemagglutinins. Of these, oxalates and nitrates are of more concern when amaranth grain is used in foraging applications. Some studies suggest thermal processing of amaranth, particularly in moist environment, prior to its preparation in food and human consumption may be a promising way to reduce the adverse effects of amaranth's anti-nutritional and toxic factors.
A one-to-one comparison of cooked amaranth with cooked wild rice and with whole grain wheat flour suggests:
- the nutrition content of cooked amaranth is higher in some, lower in other essential nutrients in comparison to wild rice.
- the nutrition content of cooked amaranth is higher in few, lower in most other essential nutrients in comparison to whole grain wheat.
As a weed
Not all amaranth plants are cultivated. Most of the species from Amaranthus are summer annual weeds and are commonly referred to as pigweeds. These species have an extended period of germination, rapid growth, and high rates of seed production, and have been causing problems for farmers since the mid-1990s. This is partially due to the reduction in tillageTillage
Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the soil by mechanical agitation of various types, such as digging, stirring, and overturning. Examples of human-powered tilling methods using hand tools include shovelling, picking, mattock work, hoeing, and raking...
, reduction in herbicidal use and the evolution of herbicidal resistance in several species where herbicides have been applied more often. The following 9 species of Amaranthus are considered invasive and noxious weeds in the U.S and Canada: A. albus, A. blitoides, A. hybridus, A. palmeri, A. powellii, A. retroflexus, A. spinosus, A. tuberculatus, and A. viridis.
A new herbicide-resistant strain of Amaranthus palmeri
Amaranthus palmeri
Amaranthus palmeri is a species of edible flowering plant in the amaranth genus. It has several common names, including Palmer's amaranth, Palmer amaranth, Palmer's pigweed, and carelessweed. It is native to most of the southern half of North America. Populations in the eastern United States are...
or Palmer amaranth has appeared; it is Glyphosate-resistant and so cannot be killed by the widely used Roundup herbicide. Also, this plant can survive in tough conditions. This could be of particular concern to cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
farmers using Roundup Ready cotton. The species Amaranthus palmeri (Palmer amaranth) causes the greatest reduction in soybean
Soybean
The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean which has numerous uses...
yields and has the potential to reduce yields by 17-68% in field experiments. Palmer amaranth is among the “top five most troublesome weeds” in the southeast and has already evolved resistances to dinitroanilines and acetolactate synthase inhibitors. This makes the proper identification of Amaranthus species at the seedling stage essential for agriculturalists. Proper weed control needs to be applied before the species successfully colonizes in the crop field and causes significant yield reductions.
Beneficial weed
Pigweed can be a beneficial weedBeneficial weed
|thumb|right|Clover was once included in grass seed mixes, because of its great benefits to yard healthA beneficial weed is any of various plants not generally considered domesticated, but which nonetheless has some companion plant effect, or else is edible or somehow beneficial...
, as well as a companion plant, serving as a trap for leaf miners and some other pests, as well as sheltering ground beetles (which prey upon insect pests) and breaking up hard soil for more delicate neighboring plants.
Myth, legend and poetry
The word amaranth comes from the GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
word amarantos, meaning "unwithering". The word was applied to amaranth because it did not soon fade and so symbolized immortality. "Amarant" is a more correct, albeit archaic form, chiefly used in poetry. The current spelling, amaranth, seems to have come from folk etymology that assumed the final syllable derived from the Greek word anthos ("flower"), common in botanical names.
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables
Aesop's Fables or the Aesopica are a collection of fables credited to Aesop, a slave and story-teller believed to have lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BCE. The fables remain a popular choice for moral education of children today...
(6th century BC) compares the rose to the amaranth to illustrate the difference in fleeting and everlasting beauty:
- A Rose and an Amaranth blossomed side by side in a garden,
- and the Amaranth said to her neighbour,
- "How I envy you your beauty and your sweet scent!
- No wonder you are such a universal favourite."
- But the Rose replied with a shade of sadness in her voice,
- "Ah, my dear friend, I bloom but for a time:
- my petals soon wither and fall, and then I die.
- But your flowers never fade, even if they are cut;
- for they are everlasting."
Or in story form:
- An amaranth planted in a garden near a Rose-Tree, thus addressed it: "What a lovely flower is the Rose, a favorite alike with Gods and with men. I envy you your beauty and your perfume." The Rose replied, "I indeed, dear Amaranth, flourish but for a brief season! If no cruel hand pluck me from my stem, yet I must perish by an early doom. But thou art immortal and dost never fade, but bloomest for ever in renewed youth."
Thus, in John Milton's
John Milton
John Milton was an English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell...
epic poem Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in ten books, with a total of over ten thousand individual lines of verse...
(1667), iii. 353:
- "Immortal amarant, a flower which once
- In paradise, fast by the tree of life,
- Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence
- To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows,
- And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life,
- And where the river of bliss through midst of heaven
- Rolls o'er elysian flowers her amber stream:
- With these that never fade the spirits elect
- Bind their resplendent locks."
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, in Work Without Hope (1825), also refers to the herb, likely referencing Milton's earlier work. (ll 7-10 excerpted):
- Yet well I ken the banks where Amaranths blow,
- Have traced the fount whence streams of nectar flow.
- Bloom, O ye Amaranths! bloom for whom ye may,
- For me ye bloom not! Glide, rich streams, away!
In his dialogue ‘Aesop and Rhodopè’, published in 1844, Walter Savage LandorWalter Savage LandorWalter Savage Landor was an English writer and poet. His best known works were the prose Imaginary Conversations, and the poem Rose Aylmer, but the critical acclaim he received from contemporary poets and reviewers was not matched by public popularity...
wrote:
There are no fields of amaranth on this side of the grave: there are no voices, O Rhodopè, that are not soon mute, however tuneful: there is no name, with whatever emphasis of passionate love repeated, of which the echo is not faint at last.
Joachim du Bellay
Joachim du Bellay
Joachim du Bellay was a French poet, critic, and a member of the Pléiade.-Biography:He was born at the Château of La Turmelière, not far from Liré, near Angers, being the son of Jean du Bellay, Lord of Gonnor, first cousin of the cardinal Jean du Bellay and of Guillaume du Bellay.Both his parents...
mentioned the herb in his "A Vow To Heavenly Venus," ca. 1500.
- We that with like hearts love, we lovers twain,
- New wedded in the village by thy fane,
- Lady of all chaste love, to thee it is
- We bring these amaranths, these white lilies,
- A sign, and sacrifice; may Love, we pray,
- Like amaranthine flowers, feel no decay;
- Like these cool lilies may our loves remain,
- Perfect and pure, and know not any stain;
- And be our hearts, from this thy holy hour,
- Bound each to each, like flower to wedded flower.
In ancient Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, the amaranth (also called chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemum
Chrysanthemums, often called mums or chrysanths, are of the genus constituting approximately 30 species of perennial flowering plants in the family Asteraceae which is native to Asia and northeastern Europe.-Etymology:...
and helichrysum) was sacred to Ephesian Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
. It was supposed to have special healing properties, and, as a symbol of immortality, was used to decorate images of the gods and tomb
Tomb
A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes...
s. In legend, Amarynthus
Amarynthus
Amarynthus was in Greek mythology a hunter of Artemis, from whom the town of Amarynthus in Euboea was believed to have derived its name. From this hero, or rather from the town of Amarynthus, Artemis derived the surname Amarynthia or Amarysia, under which she was worshipped there and also in...
(a form of Amarantus) was a hunter of Artemis and king of Euboea
Euboea
Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
; in a village of Amarynthus, of which he was the eponymous hero, there was a famous temple of Artemis Amarynthia or Amarysia (Strabo x. 448; Pausan. i. 31, p. 5). It was also widely used by the Chinese for its healing chemicals, curing illnesses such as infections, rashes, and migraines. The "Amarantos" is the name of a several-century-old popular Greek folk song:
- Look at the amaranth:
- on tall mountains it grows,
- on the very stones and rocks
- and places inaccessible.
Sources
- Lenz, Botanik der alt. Greich. und Rom. Botany of old. (1859)
- J. Murr, Die Pflanzenwelt in der griech. Mythol. Plants in Greek Mythology. (1890)