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Mexican Grain Amaranth

Amaranthus cruentus L.

Comments

provided by eFloras
Amaranthus cruentus is cultivated as ornamental and pseudocereal almost worldwide from tropical to warm-temperate regions. While reported as naturalized in several states, most specimens identified as this species are referable to A. hybridus or other native species. Escaped plants of A. cruentus sometimes occur near places of cultivation (see note under A. caudatus). No attempt has been made to summarize distribution data for such escapes.

Amaranthus cruentus originated from A. hybridus (most probably in cultivation in Central America), with which it shares almost all major morphologic characteristics. Inclusion of cultivated forms in A. hybridus in a broad sense is thus rather justified. Cultivated species traditionally have been treated as separate taxa in horticultural and agricultural literature, and we prefer to maintain the current convenient usage of these names.

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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
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Flora of North America Vol. 4: 423 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
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Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
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Description

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Plants almost glabrous or slightly pubescent distally, especially when young. Stems erect, green or reddish purple, branched distally, mostly in inflorescence, to nearly simple, 0.4-2 m. Leaves: petiole 1/2 as long as to ± equaling blade; blade rhombic-ovate or ovate to broadly lanceolate, 3-15(-20) × 1.5-10(-15) cm, occasionally larger in robust plants, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, margins entire, plane, apex acute or subobtuse to slightly emarginate, with mucro. Inflorescences terminal and axillary, erect, reflexed, or nodding, usually dark red, purple, or deep beet-red, less commonly almost green or greenish red, leafless at least distally , large and robust. Bracts narrowly spathulate, 2-3 mm, equaling or slightly longer than tepals, apex short-spinescent. Pistillate flowers: tepals 5, oblong to lanceolate, not clawed, equal or subequal, 1.5-3 mm, apex acute; style branches erect or slightly reflexed; stigmas 3. Staminate flowers at tips of inflorescences; tepals 5; stamens (4-)5. Utricles obovoid to elongate-obovoid, 2-2.5 mm, smooth or slightly rugose distally, dehiscence regularly circumscissile. Seeds usually white or ivory, with reddish or yellowish tint, sometimes dark brown to dark reddish brown, broadly lenticular to elliptic-lenticular, 1.2-1.6 mm diam., smooth or indistinctly punctate.
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cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 4: 423 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
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eFloras.org
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Description

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Stem erect, green, glabrous. Petiole green; leaf blade rhombic-ovate or oblong-lanceolate, glabrous, base cuneate, margin entire or undulate, apex acuminate or acute. Complex thyrsoid structures erect; bracts and tepals distinctly long pointed at apex; bracts of female flowers ca. 1.5 × as long as segments; tepals conspicuously shorter than fruit. Utricles 3-4 mm in diam., circumscissile. Seeds subglobose. Fl. Jun-Jul, fr. Sep-Oct. 2n = 30*, 32*, 34*.
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 5: 419 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
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Flora of China @ eFloras.org
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Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
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Habitat & Distribution

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Flowering summer-fall. Near places of cultivation; Ariz., Calif., Conn., Ill., Ind., Ky., Maine, Md., Mass., Mich., Nebr., N.H., N.J., N.Y., N.C., Ohio, Oreg., Pa., R.I., S.C., Tex., Utah, Vt., Wash., W.Va., Wis.; Central America; South America; cultivated widely.
license
cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 4: 423 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
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eFloras.org
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eFloras

Habitat & Distribution

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Widely cultivated. in China [cosmopolitan].
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 5: 419 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of China @ eFloras.org
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Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
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eFloras.org
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eFloras

Synonym

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Amaranthus hybridus Linnaeus subsp. cruentus (Linnaeus) Thellung
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of North America Vol. 4: 423 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of North America @ eFloras.org
editor
Flora of North America Editorial Committee
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eFloras.org
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Synonym

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Amaranthus paniculatus Linnaeus; A. hybridus Linnaeus subsp. cruentus (Linnaeus) Thellung; A. hybridus var. paniculatus (Linnaeus) Thellung.
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cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 5: 419 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of China @ eFloras.org
editor
Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
project
eFloras.org
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Derivation of specific name

provided by Flora of Zimbabwe
hybridus: hybrid; cruentus: blood-stained
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Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten and Petra Ballings
bibliographic citation
Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T. and Ballings, P. (2002-2014). Amaranthus hybridus L.
subsp. cruentus (L.) Thell. Flora of Zimbabwe website. Accessed 28 August 2014 at http://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=122170
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Mark Hyde
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Bart Wursten
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Petra Ballings
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Amaranthus cruentus

provided by wikipedia EN

Amaranthus cruentus is a 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. In Mexico, it is called huautli (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwawtli] and alegría ([aleˈɣɾi.a] and in English it has several common names, including blood amaranth, red amaranth, purple amaranth,[2] prince's feather, and Mexican grain amaranth.

Description

Amaranthus cruentus is a tall annual herb topped with clusters of dark pink flowers. The plant can grow up to 2 m (6 ft) in height, and blooms in summer to fall. It is believed to have originated from Amaranthus hybridus, with which it shares many morphological features. The plant is usually green in color, but a purple variant was once grown for use in Inca rituals. height up to 13 feet are found in Wayanad, Kerala.

Uses

This species was in use as a food source in North America and Central America as early as 4000 BC. The seeds are eaten as a cereal grain. They are black in the wild plant, and white in the domesticated form. They are ground into flour, popped like popcorn, cooked into a porridge, or made into a confectionery called alegría.[3] The leaves can be cooked like spinach, and the seeds can be germinated into nutritious sprouts. While A. cruentus is no longer a staple food in North and Central America, it is still grown and sold as a health food.

It is an important crop for subsistence farmers in Africa.[4]

In Chhattisgarh, red amaranth is used to make Lal Bhaji, a stir-fried dish. In Maharashtra, during the month of Shravan, a stir-fried vegetable with just grated coconut is served during festivals. The stem is used in a curry made with Vaal hyacinth bean.

Among the Zuni people, the feathery part of a plant is ground into a fine meal and used to color ceremonial bread red.[5] The crushed leaves and blossoms are also moistened and rubbed on cheeks as rouge.[6]

In the Kinnaur District of Himachal Pradesh (India), the grain is used to make kheer and served mostly as dessert during marriage ceremonies. The flour is also used to make deep-fried chapatis (pole).

Cultivation

A. cruentus is cultivated as an ornamental plant, valued for its feather-like flowering plumes. It is usually grown from seed as a half-hardy annual, that is sown under glass in early Spring and planted out in summer. Numerous cultivars have been developed, of which the following have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:

  • 'Autumn Palette Group'[7] (earth colours – rust, cream, brown)
  • 'Oeschberg'[8] (crimson flowers)
  • 'Velvet Curtains'[9] (deep red/crimson)

References

  1. ^ "Amaranthus cruentus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
  2. ^ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  3. ^ St. Clair, Kassia (2016). The Secret Lives of Colour. London: John Murray. p. 131. ISBN 9781473630819. OCLC 936144129.
  4. ^ Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.
  5. ^ Stevenson, Matilda Coxe 1915 Ethnobotany of the Zuni Indians. SI-BAE Annual Report #30 p.87
  6. ^ Stevenson, p.83
  7. ^ "Amaranthus cruentus 'Autumn Palette Group'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  8. ^ "Amaranthus cruentus 'Oeschberg'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Amaranthus cruentus 'Velvet Curtains'". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 5 January 2018.

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Amaranthus cruentus: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Amaranthus cruentus is a 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. In Mexico, it is called huautli (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈwawtli] and alegría ([aleˈɣɾi.a] and in English it has several common names, including blood amaranth, red amaranth, purple amaranth, prince's feather, and Mexican grain amaranth.

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