Amaranthus.

Amaranthus blitum Linn. Amaranthaceae. Amaranthus. Wild Blite.

Temperate and tropical zones. The plant finds use as a pot-herb.

Amaranthus campestris Willd.

East Indies. This species is one of the pot-herbs of the Hindus.

Amaranthus diacanthus Rafin.

North America. Rafinesque says the leaves are good to eat as spinach.

Amaranthus gangeticus Linn. Amaranthus.

Tropical zone. This amaranthus is cultivated by the natives in endless varieties and is in general use in Bengal. The plant is pulled up by the root and carried to market in that state. The leaves are used as a spinach. Roxburgh says there are four leading varieties cultivated as pot-herbs: Viridis, the common green sort, is most cultivated; Ruber, a beautiful, bright colored variety; Albus, much cultivated in Bengal; Giganteus, is five to eight feet high with a stem as thick as a man's wrist. The soft, succulent stem is sliced and eaten as a salad, or the tops are served as an asparagus. In China, the plant is eaten as a cheap, cooling, spring vegetable by all classes. It is much esteemed as a pot-herb by all ranks of natives. This species is cultivated about Macao and the neighboring part of China and is the most esteemed of all their summer vegetables.

Amaranthus paniculatus Linn. Prince's Feather. Red Amaranth.

North America and naturalized in the Orient. This plant is extensively cultivated in India for its seed which is ground into flour. It is very productive. Roxburgh says it will bear half a pound of floury, nutritious seed on a square yard of ground. Titford says it forms an excellent pot-herb in Jamaica when boiled, exactly resembling spinach.

Amaranthus polygamus Linn. Goose-Foot.

Tropical Africa and East Indies. This plant is cultivated in India and is used as a pot-herb. It has mucilaginous leaves without taste. This amaranthus is a common weed everywhere in India and is much used by the natives as a pot-herb. Drury says it is considered very wholesome. This species is the goose-foot of Jamaica, where it is sometimes gathered and used as a green.

Amaranthus polystachyus Willd.

East Indies. The species is cultivated in India as a pot-herb for its mucilaginous leaves but is tasteless.

Amaranthus retroflexus Linn. Green Amaranth. Pigweed.

North America. This weed occurs around dwellings in manured soil in the United States whence it was introduced from tropical America. It is an interesting fact that it is cultivated by the Arizona Indians for its seeds.

Amaranthus spinosus Linn. Prickly Calalue. Thorny Amaranth.

Tropical regions. This is a weed in cultivated land in Asia, Africa and America. It is cultivated sometimes as a spinach. In Jamaica, it is frequently used as a vegetable and is wholesome and agreeable. It seems to be the prickly calalue of Long.

Amaranthus viridis Linn.

Tropics. This plant is stated by Titford to be an excellent pot-herb in Jamaica and is said to resemble spinach when boiled

Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World, 1919, was edited by U. P. Hedrick.