Amaranth
Amaranthus
Botanical family: Amaranthaceae
Several food species: the grain amaranths of Mesoamerica, Amaranthus hypochondriacus (mainly in Mexico) and A. cruentus (mainly in Guatemala), and A. caudatus (love-lies-bleeding, also grown for its ornamental flowers), grown for its seeds and leaves in the Andes. Excavations at Tehuacán, in Mexico, show they were cultivated more than 6,000 years ago; among the Aztecs, ritual figurines made from their dough reminded the colonisers of the Eucharist, and they persecuted its cultivation and banned its consumption. Sources: FAO (1994), “Neglected crops: 1492 from a different perspective”, chapter “Grain amaranths”; Plants For A Future, “Amaranthus caudatus”.
Full sun
Any soil
Low once up: tolerates drought, provided the seedlings had enough water
Frost-tender annual: its seedlings are very sensitive to frost; sown after the last frosts, it is killed by the first autumn frost
An annual killed by frost in your zone
Mostly self-pollinating: male and female flowers on the same spike
One plant is enough for a crop
Role in permaculture
A dual-use pseudo-cereal (Amaranthaceae): seeds (food, gluten-free) and leaves (summer spinach, standing up to heatwaves). Self-seeds spontaneously, to be contained if you plant it. A very good plant for climate resilience: tolerates drought and heat where other cereals fail.
Poor companions
Allelopathy, reputed or observed: may slow some neighbours
Seasons & availability
Amaranth is sown in April and May, gives spinach-like leaves in summer, then sets its seed from late summer into autumn, August to October; the dry grain then keeps for several months.
Available: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- Biofarm, « Fiche technique pour la culture d'amarante à grains en agriculture biologique » (biofarm.ch/fr/mwdownloads/download/link/id/54)
- Plants For A Future, « Amaranthus cruentus » (pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Amaranthus+cruentus)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
The leaves (and especially the stems) can be rich in oxalic acid and, on very fertilised soil, accumulate nitrates: it's advised to cook them in a large volume of water that is discarded, and to stay moderate in case of a history of kidney stones. The grain is eaten cooked. For any use beyond everyday food, seek the advice of a health professional.
Family behaviour: Amaranthaceae
In general, Amaranthaceae bring together leaves and roots of the same kinship (beetroot, chard, spinach, plus quinoa and amaranth). Often tolerant of poor or slightly salty soils, a legacy of their ancestors from harsh habitats, they are rather hungry for well-rotted organic matter and dislike fresh manure.
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Species
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Nahuas (Mexica/Aztecs) of central Mexico, as described by friar Bernardino de Sahagún · Mexico-Tenochtitlan; observations gathered around 1540–1580, around the Conquest
According to Sahagún's Florentine Codex, during the feasts of Panquetzaliztli and Toxcatl, the Mexica kneaded roasted amaranth seeds (huauhtli) with honey or agave to make a paste, the tzoalli, from which they shaped an effigy of the god Huitzilopochtli. Honoured, then broken and eaten by the faithful, this effigy was a teixiptla, an 'incarnation' of the god rather than a mere image. This ritual fact is solidly attested by a 16th-century primary source. On the other hand, the tale of a formal 'ban' on amaranth by the Spanish, very widespread, is far less documented and must be handled with caution.
Bernardino de Sahagún, Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España (Codex de Florence), livres II et III, v. 1577.
The ritual fact rests on a reliable primary source; the motif of the 'forbidden seed' belongs mainly to a secondary tradition and is flagged as such. A sensitive subject: Mexica religion and sacrifices are evoked here without sensationalism or essentialising, and no health virtue is presented as a fact.
Key takeaways
- • Prefers full sun exposure.
- • Ideal soil: any soil.
- • Keep away from: Sunflower.