Amaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding,[2] pendant amaranth,^{[citation needed]} tassel flower,[2] velvet flower,[2] foxtail amaranth,[2] and quilete.^{[citation needed]}

Love-lies-bleeding
Amaranthus caudatus growing in the Botanical Garden, Bremen
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Amaranthus
Species:	A. caudatus
Binomial name
Amaranthus caudatus L.
Synonyms[1]
List Amaranthus abyssinicus L.H.Bailey Amaranthus alopecurus Hochst. ex A.Br. & C.D.Bouché Amaranthus cararu Moq. Amaranthus dussii Sprenger Amaranthus edulis Speg. Amaranthus leucocarpus S.Watson Amaranthus leucospermus S.Watson nom. illeg. Amaranthus mantegazzianus Pass. Amaranthus maximus Mill. Amaranthus pendulinus Moq. Amaranthus pendulus Moq. Euxolus arvensis Rojas Acosta

Many parts of the plant, including the leaves and seeds, are edible, and are frequently used as a source of food in India as well as in South America, where it is the most important Andean species of Amaranthus, known as kiwicha. (See also amaranth seed and Andean ancient plants.) This species, as with many other amaranths, is originally from the American tropics. The exact origin is unknown, as A. caudatus is believed to be a wild Amaranthus hybridus aggregate.

The red color of the inflorescences is due to a high content of betacyanins, as in the related species known as "Hopi red dye" amaranth. Ornamental garden varieties sold under the latter name are either Amaranthus cruentus or a hybrid between A. cruentus and Amaranthus powellii. In indigenous agriculture, A. cruentus is the Central American counterpart to South American A. caudatus.

During the Victorian era, specific flowers had different meanings. Love-lies-bleeding stood for hopeless love or hopelessness in the Victorian language of flowers.[3]

Cultivation

A. caudatus can grow easily anywhere from 1 to 2.5 metres (3 to 8 feet) in height, and grows best in full sunlight. It can handle a variety of conditions, both humid and arid. It is easily grown from seed.^{[citation needed]}

In most of its range, it is planted as a summer annual. In temperate regions, plants can be started indoors in early spring and transplanted outdoors after the last frost.^{[citation needed]}

References

• Information from University of Wisconsin
• Article about role of Amaranths in native American agriculture

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amaranthus caudatus.

• Jepson Manual Treatment
• Ecoport token for Amaranthus caudatus L.
• "Wild Food Plants Attracting Additional Consumer Categories": Amaranthus caudatus (Famine Food Guide website)
• Amaranthus caudatus in the CalPhotos photo database, University of California, Berkeley
• Amaranthus caudatus L. Medicinal Plant Images Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University) (in Chinese) (in English)
• Crops for the Future: Kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus)
• "Amaranthus caudatus". Plants for a Future.

На других языках

[es] Amaranthus caudatus

[ru] Амарант хвостатый