Amaranth

An old common name was ‘Love Lies Bleeding’.

The genus name comes from the Greek amarantos, unfading. The red flower stalks remain showy on the plant for a very long season. The Spanish name is ‘huautli’, or ‘alegría’.  Amaranth provides the name for the larger plant family Amaranthaceae, which also includes spinach and sugar beets.

A common species in Southern California gardens is  Amaranthus cruentus. There are many species, some grown for grain or leaf harvests, and many grown for show.

If you have one successful Amaranth plant in your garden, you will soon have more.  From my small garden we sometimes collect baskets full of delicious seeds.

The seeds are quite edible, and abundant. We use them often in meals, though it takes some time to shake them free of the old stems.  We pop the seeds like popcorn, and use them in cookies and bread.