Amaranthus caudatus
| Amaranthus caudatus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |   |
| Hardiness: | 5 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Self Pollinated | |
| Height: | 7' |
| Width: | 1' |
| Blooms: | Mid Summer-Early Fall |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Medicinal Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Amaranthus caudatus (common name: love lies bleeding)
Propagation: Seed - sow late spring in situ. An earlier sowing can be made in a greenhouse and the plants put out after the last expected frosts. Germination is usually rapid and good if the soil is warm[1]. A drop in temperature overnight aids germination[1].
Cuttings of growing plants root easily[2].
Cultivation: Prefers a well-drained fertile soil in a sunny position[3][4]. Grows moderately well in poor soils[4]. Requires a hot sheltered position if it is to do well[K]. Plants are drought resistant though reasonable moisture levels are required for germination and also at pollination[3]. Some forms can tolerate a pH up to 8.5, there are also some that can tolerate mild salinity[3]. It is likely that they will also tolerate acid soils and aluminum toxicity[3].
Plants are not frost-hardy, the most cold tolerant cultivars can tolerate temperatures down to about 4°c[3].
Plants should not be given inorganic fertilizers, see notes above on toxicity.
This species is cultivated for its edible seed and leaves in the Andes and various other parts of S. America[5][6][7]. It probably arose through cultivation from A. quitensis. There are some named varieties[3]. Plants take 4 - 6 months from sowing to harvesting the seed, but up to 10 months in some Andean highland regions[3]. Yields from 1 - 3 tonnes per hectare are common, 5 tonnes has been achieved and research sites have produced the equivalent of 6 tonnes per hectare[3]. The seed is usually harvested just before maturity otherwise some of the seed will be lost during harvesting[3]. Plants usually have downward facing seedheads but varieties have been developed with upward facing heads that can be harvested mechanically[3].
This species is sensitive to day-length most cultivars are short-day and have not done well in northern latitudes, but there are some varieties that flower at day-lengths up to 16 hours[3].
Most if not all members of this genus photosynthesize by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions[3].
Range: Tropics.
Habitat: A weed of cultivated ground[8].
Edibility: Leaves - raw or cooked as a spinach or added to soups etc[9][5][6][10][11]. The mild flavoured leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals[11][K].
Seed - cooked[9][5][12][10]. Very small but easy to harvest and very nutritious, individual plants can bear up to 100, 000 seeds[3]. It is eaten cooked or ground into a powder and used in baking[6][11][3]. The seed can also be popped in much the same way as popcorn[7][11]. The seed can be cooked whole, and becomes very gelatinous like this, but it is rather difficult to crush all of the small seeds in the mouth and thus some of the seed will pass right through the digestive system without being assimilated[K]. The seed is very nutritious and contains 13 - 18% of a very high quality protein that is rich in the amino acid lysine[3]. It also contains good quantities of calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, zinc, vitamin E and the vitamin B complex[3].
A red food colouring called 'betalaina' is obtained from red cultivars[3].
Medicinal: The plant is astringent, anthelmintic and diuretic[13][14]. It is used in the treatment of stranguary and is applied externally to scrofulous sores[14].
Usage: Yellow and green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant[15].
Pollinators: Wind, self
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
Seed Ripens: Late Summer-Early Fall
Flower Type: Monoecious
Known Hazards: No members of this genus are known to be poisonous, but when grown on nitrogen-rich soils they are known to concentrate nitrates in the leaves. This is especially noticeable on land where chemical fertilizers are used. Nitrates are implicated in stomach c
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References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Rice, Graham. Growing from Seed Volume 1. Thompson and Morgan, 1987.
- ↑ Larkcom, Joy. Oriental Vegetables. John Murray, 1991.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 Popenoe, Hugh. Lost Crops of the Incas. National Academy Press, 1990.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Towle, Margaret. The Ethnobotany of Pre-Columbian Peru.
- ↑ Singh, Gurcharan and Premnath Kachroo. Forest Flora of Srinagar. Bishen Singh Mahendra Pal Singh, 1976.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Douglas, James. Alternative Foods.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Tanaka, Tyōzaburō. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing, 1976.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
- ↑ Schery. Robert. Plants for Man. Prentice Hall, 1972.
- ↑ Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Chopra, R. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, 1986.
- ↑ Grae, Ida. Nature's Colors. MacMillan Publishing, 1974.