Amaranth
Amaranthus cruentus
Grain amaranth and leafy callaloo types overlap in the genus. Tiny seeds pop like miniature popcorn. Weedy pigweeds are relatives — identify before you eat a weed lot.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
Grain amaranth and leafy callaloo types overlap in the genus. Tiny seeds pop like miniature popcorn. Weedy pigweeds are relatives — identify before you eat a weed lot.
Edible portions
- seeds
- young leaves of food types
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. Annual heat
- Light. Full sun, heat
- Soil. Average
- Planting. Direct-sow small seed on the surface.
- Harvest. Seed heads when dry; leaves young.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Porridge, popped seed, greens
Nutrition and compounds
- Minerals (qualitative). magnesium, iron, calcium, protein — look up current USDA FoodData Central entries for numbers.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.