Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. Most of the Amaranthus species are summer annual weeds and are commonly referred to as pigweeds. Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in summer or autumn. Amaranth varies in flower, leaf, and stem color with a range of striking pigments from the spectrum of maroon to crimson and can grow longitudinally from 1 to 2.5 metres tall with a cylindrical, succulent, fibrous stem that is hollow with grooves and bracteoles when mature. There are approximately 75 species in the genus, 10 of which are dioecious and native to North America with the remaining 65 monoecious species endemic to every continent from tropical lowlands to the Himalayas. Members of this genus share many characteristics and uses with members of the closely related genus Celosia. Amaranth grain is collected from the genus. The leaves of some species are also eaten.
Amaranthus hybridus, commonly called green amaranth, slim amaranth, smooth amaranth, smooth pigweed, or red 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.
Amaranthus wrightii is a species of flowering plant. It goes by the common name of Wright's amaranth. It occurs from western Texas into southern Arizona and as far north as Colorado at elevations between 500–2,000 m (1,600–6,600 ft).
Amaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and quilete.
Amaranthus hypochondriacus is an ornamental plant commonly known as Prince-of-Wales feather or prince's-feather. Originally endemic to Mexico, it is called quelite, bledo and quintonil in Spanish.
Amaranthus retroflexus is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae with several common names, including red-root amaranth, redroot pigweed, red-rooted pigweed, common amaranth, pigweed amaranth, and common tumbleweed.
Amaranthus tricolor, known as edible amaranth, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Amaranthus, part of the family Amaranthaceae.
Amaranthus palmeri is a species of edible flowering plant in the amaranth genus. It has several common names, including carelessweed, dioecious amaranth, Palmer's amaranth, Palmer amaranth, and Palmer's pigweed.
Amaranthus 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.
Amaranthus dubius, the red spinach, Chinese spinach,, spleen amaranth, hon-toi-moi, yin choy, hsien tsai, or Arai keerai is a plant species. It belongs to the economically important family Amaranthaceae.
Amaranthus fimbriatus is a species of glabrous flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae family. It is commonly known as fringed amaranth or fringed pigweed. The plant is an annual herb that can often grow up to 0.7 m (2 ft.) in height. The flower is greenish to maroon. It is found in North America and in Mexico. It often grows on sandy, gravelly slopes, semideserts or in disturbed habitats. It usually blooms after the summer rains in these arid regions. It is considered to be an invasive weed.
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. In Maharashtra, it is called shravani maath or rajgira. In Kerala, it is called chuvanna cheera or commonly, cheera .In Karnataka, it is called "Dantina soppu" or harive soppu.
Species belonging to the genus Amaranthus have been cultivated for their grains for 8,000 years. Amaranth plants are classified as pseudocereals that are grown for their edible starchy seeds, but they are not in the same botanical family as true cereals, such as wheat and rice. Amaranth species that are still used as a grain are Amaranthus caudatus L., Amaranthus cruentus L., and Amaranthus hypochondriacus L. The yield of grain amaranth is comparable to rice or maize.
Amaranthus arenicola, commonly called sand amaranth or sandhill amaranth, is a plant species found in many states of the contiguous United States. It is an dioecious annual species found in sandy areas, near riverbeds, lakes, and fields. It is native to the central or south Great Plains, extending from Texas to South Dakota, and was introduced to other areas. This flowering plant can grow up to 2 meters in height.
Amaranthus 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 (30 ft) high. The stems can be up to 30 cm in diameter. It is a herbaceous annual. It is found in many southern states of the United States, Mexico, the West Indies, and South America. They are frequently found in wetland areas. It is herbaceous, short lived perennial. The largest is 4.6 m (15 ft) tall.
Amaranthus blitoides, commonly called mat amaranth, prostrate pigweed, procumbent pigweed, prostrate amaranth, or matweed, is a glabrous annual plants species. It usually grows up to 0.6 m, though it may grow up to 1 m. It flowers in the summer to fall.
Amaranthus crispus is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is referred to by the common name crispleaf amaranth. It is a herbaceous, sparsely pubescent annual plant. It can grow up to 0.5 m (1.5 ft) in height. It flowers in summer to fall. It usually grows in waste places, disturbed habitats, or near water. It is native to Argentina, Chile and Uruguay and has been introduced into Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Crimea, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Sardinia, the United States, and Yugoslavia.
Amaranthus deflexus is also known by the common names low amaranth, Argentina amaranth, perennial pigweed, and large-fruit amaranth. It is native to South America, and has been introduced to many other parts of the world. It is a short-lived perennial or annual plant. The plant can grow up to 1.5 ft in height.
Amaranthus graecizans, the Mediterranean amaranth or short-tepalled pigweed, is an annual species in the botanical family Amaranthaceae. It is native to Africa, southern Europe, East Asia to India and Central Asia. It is naturalized in North America. More general common names include tumbleweed and pigweed.
Amaranthus muricatus, the so-called African amaranth, is a species in the genus Amaranthus native to South America; Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. It is an invasive species in Africa, Europe and Australia, and to a lesser degree in North America and Asia. It is a decumbent perennial that does well in arid climates.
