Amaranthus is a genus of plants commonly known as amaranths. Some species are known by variants of the common name "pigweed". Some members are annual and others are perennial. The plant can grow from 1 to 2.5 metres (3 to 8 feet) tall with a succulent, hollow stem. Parts of the plant vary from green to reddish. Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in the summer or fall.
There are 75 recognized species in the genus, some monoecious and some dioecious. The name amaranth was originally applied to the closely related genus Celosia. Amaranthus is cosmopolitan in tropical regions. Some species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals (with amaranth grain being collected), and ornamental plants.
Description
Amaranth is a herbaceous plant or shrub that is either annual or perennial across the genus. The plant has a primary root with deeper spreading secondary fibrous root structures. Amaranths contain concentric rings of vascular bundles and fix carbon efficiently with a C4 photosynthetic pathway. Amaranth can grow from 1 to 2.5 metres (3 to 8 feet) tall with a cylindrical, succulent, fibrous stem that is hollow with grooves and bracteoles when mature varies in flower, leaf, and stem color with a range of striking pigments from the spectrum of maroon to crimson. The leaves are approximately
Amaranth grain
Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in the summer or fall. The inflorescences are in the form a large panicle that varies from terminal to axial, color, and sex. The tassel of fluorescence is either erect or bent and varies in width and length between species. The flowers are radially symmetric and either bisexual or unisexual with very small, bristly perianth and pointy bracts. The flowers vary interspecifically from the presence of 3 or 5 tepals and stamens, whereas a 7-porate pollen grain structure remains consistent across the family.
Species in this genus are either monoecious (e.g. A. hybridus,) or dioecious (e.g....
