''Amaranthus caudatus'' (also known as ''Amaranthus edulis'' and ''Amaranthus mantegazzianus'') is a species of annual

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

. It goes by

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often con ...

s such as love-lies-bleeding, pendant amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and quelite. To the

Quechua people Quechua people (, ; ) , Quichua people or Kichwa people may refer to any of the Indigenous peoples of South America who speak the Quechua languages, which originated among the Indigenous people of Peru. Although most Quechua speakers are nativ ...

of South America, ''A. caudatus'' is referred to as kiwicha, quihuicha, inca jataco; ataco, ataku, sankurachi, jaguarcha (Ecuador), millmi, or coimi. While to the

Aymara people The Aymara or Aimara (, ) people are an Indigenous people in the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America. Approximately 2.3 million Aymara live in northwest Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. The ancestors of the Aymara lived in the reg ...

, who are native to the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America, ''A. caudatus'' is known as qamasa. Many parts of the plant, including the leaves and seeds, are edible, and are frequently used as a source of food in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as well as in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, where it is the most important

Andean The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long and wide (widest between 18°S ...

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. In indigenous agriculture, ''A. cruentus'' is the Central American counterpart to South American ''A. caudatus''.

Introduction

Description

''A. caudatus'' is most recognizable for its striking flowering panicles that can reach up to 90 cm long. The colour of these highly dense flowering panicles ranges from black, to red and more commonly white. The red varieties of ''A. caudatus'' are due to a high content of betacyanins. Each panicle is self-pollinating and the fruits each contain a single small seed, no larger than 1 mm in diameter. Like

quinoa Quinoa (''Chenopodium quinoa''; , from Quechuan languages, Quechua ' or ') is a flowering plant in the Amaranthaceae, amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in prote ...

, each seed has a shiny coat and the embryo is curved around the small endosperm. The panicles grow from lateral buds and from the main stem. ''A. caudatus'' is an annual, broad-leaved dicotyledon with a central stem that grows from a taproot system. Depending on the variety, ''A. caudatus'' can reach up to 2.5 m tall. Leaves and side branches grow outward from the central stem and may start as low as the base of the plant.

Etymology

During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...

, specific flowers had different meanings. Love-lies-bleeding stood for hopeless love or hopelessness in the Victorian

language of flowers Floriography (language of flowers) is a means of cryptological communication through the use or arrangement of flowers. Meaning has been attributed to flowers for thousands of years, and some form of floriography has been practiced in tradition ...

. Therefore, as the plant visually resembles droplets of blood and

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

virtue name Virtue names, also known as grace names, are used as personal names in a number of cultures. They express virtues that the parents wish their child to embody or be associated with. In the English-speaking world, beginning in the 16th century, the P ...

s had been around since the 16th century, the name love-lies-bleeding is not unexpected.

History

''A. caudatus'' is originally from Central and South America and was used as a staple grain by the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

and

Aztec The Aztecs ( ) were a Mesoamerican civilization that flourished in central Mexico in the Post-Classic stage, post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central ...

civilizations. Because of its high nutritional value, it was culturally considered as a beneficial food for children and elderly. ''A. caudatus'' was very important for

people. They believed that kiwicha had the power to give strength to people that eat it. This food was not only used for royalty diet but also in religious rituals. ''A. caudatus'' was mixed with honey and human blood and eaten during ceremonies, including human sacrifices. For these reasons, around the 1500s when the

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

es came, they prohibited the use of the plant and was almost completely banned from these regions. Around the 1800s, ''A. caudatus'' slowly started to be cultivated again. Because of its late reuse, due to its history, ''A. caudatus'' cultivation is still very localized in America. However, the interest in the cultivation of ''A. caudatus'' outside the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

is increasing again.

Natural distribution

''A. caudatus'' is an indigenous crop from the high Peruvian

that has been cultivated for thousands of years by many cultures including the

Incas The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The Inca civilisation rose fr ...

. It is the only

Amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual plant, annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include "prostrate pigweed" an ...

species that can grow at altitudes greater than 2,500 meters above the sea level. Despite the fact that ''A. caudatus'' had been a well-adapted staple in the Andean region for millennia and had offered substantial nutritional advantages to the native people, when the Spanish came in the 1500s, they replaced ''A. caudatus'' cultivations with wheat and barley. However, because of its great nutritional content, ''A. caudatus'' is regaining popularity and returning to compete with modern crops. Although ''A. caudatus'' is seldom recognized outside of the Andes, significant plantings have been observed in Mexico, China, Nepal, India and Kenya.

Cultivation

In most parts of its habitat, ''A. caudatus'' can easily grow between 1 and 2.5 meters and grows best in full sun within 4–6 months. However, in some highland regions they can take up to 10 months. It is a summer annual C4 plant. ''A. caudatus'' grows from

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

to northern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

mostly in mild areas or in the valleys of the

. Despite its geographical adaptability, it is a short-day plant and needs adequate moisture. Cultivation can occur at up to 3100 m. a.s.l. and once established it is drought tolerant and can handle both wet and dry conditions. If the cultivation takes place in subtropical climates, it can be harvested up to two times.

Loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

and loam-sandy soils with lots of organic matter and good drainage are best.

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

soils are not recommended for ''A. caudatus''. In addition, the pH must be between 6-7, although the plant can still grow at a pH of up to 8.5.A. Di Fabio and G. Parraga, “Origin, Production and Utilization of Pseudocereals,” Pseudocereals Chem. Technol., pp. 1–27, 2016, doi: 10.1002/9781118938256.ch1.S. Montserrat-de la Paz, A. Martinez-lopez, A. Villanueva-lazo, J. Pedroche, F. Millan, and M. C. Millan-linares, “Identification and characterization of novel antioxidant protein hydrolysates from kiwicha (Amaranthus caudatus l.),” Antioxidants, vol. 10, no. 5, 2021, doi: 10.3390/antiox10050645. The crop is planted by transfer, with the help of seedlings in fields or by direct drilling at the beginning of the rainy season. They are cut at a height of 10 to 55 cm and the cultivation practices are similar to those of corn: ear emergence, two-stage fertilization and weed control. In the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

, the plant is grown in the traditional way on non-irrigated land without fertilizers. The seeds are very small, so soil preparation is important, such as breaking up of clods and shaking up. It is recommended to plough the soil, harrow and make furrows either in the traditional way with a yoke or by machine. Weed control takes place manually with pricking out. In the absence of rain, irrigation is necessary every 30 days and especially in flowering and grain filling stages. Harvesting is done before full maturity of the plant. In this process, the plants are cut 50 cm above the ground. They are collected in furrows until they dry and then hit with sticks. In this process, they are placed on clothing or tamped floors for threshing and sieved so that the seeds can be separated from the dead leaves. Improvement of cultivation consists in proper soil preparation and direct sowing of selected seeds at a density of 4 to 6 kg/ha in 80 cm wide furrows, using fertilizers according to the nutrient content of the soil. The yield varies between 2000 and 5000 kg/ha in

and 900 to 4000 kg/ha in

Genetics

All species of ''amaranth'' have a diploid chromosome set but a different number of chromosomes. In ''A. caudatus'' the number is 2n = 32.

Pests and diseases

The most common diseases affecting the seeds are

Pythium ''Pythium'' is a genus of parasitic oomycetes. They were formerly classified as fungi. Most species are plant parasites, but '' Pythium insidiosum'' is an important pathogen of animals, causing pythiosis. The feet of the fungus gnat are fre ...

spp. and

Fusarium ''Fusarium'' (; ) is a large genus of filamentous fungi, part of a group often referred to as hyphomycetes, widely distributed in soil and associated with plants. Most species are harmless saprobes, and are relatively abundant members of the s ...

spp. Fungal diseases such as

Sclerotinia ''Sclerotinia'' is a genus of fungi in the family Sclerotiniaceae. The widely distributed genus contains 14 species. Taxonomy A number of species previously assigned to ''Sclerotinia'' are now considered to be members of the closely related gen ...

spp. and

Alternaria ''Alternaria'' is a genus of Deuteromycetes fungi. All species are known as major Phytopathology, plant pathogens. They are also common allergens in humans, growing indoors and causing hay fever or hypersensitivity reactions that sometimes lead t ...

spp. cause stem and root rot. The most common pest is Diabrotica spp, also known as Loritos, which can damage the plant during emergence. Other pests include

Agrotis ''Agrotis'' is a genus of moths of the family Noctuidae. The genus was erected by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer in 1816. A number of the species of this genus are extinct. Description The proboscis is well developed. Palpi obliquely porrect (exten ...

spp. and Eupicata spp.

Blister beetle Blister beetles are beetles of the family (biology), family Meloidae, so called for their defensive secretion of a blistering agent, cantharidin. About 7,500 species are known worldwide. Many are conspicuous and some are aposematism, aposematica ...

s (Epicauta adspersa) and red weed caterpillar (Loxostege bifidalis) were also found in some countries. They caused severe defoliation of the upper leaves. These pests are controlled by the application of 1.5%

diatomaceous earth Diatomaceous earth ( ), also known as diatomite ( ), celite, or kieselguhr, is a naturally occurring, soft, siliceous rock, siliceous sedimentary rock that can be crumbled into a fine white to off-white powder. It has a particle size ranging fr ...

Food

Nutrition

The flavourful and

gluten-free A gluten-free diet (GFD) is a nutritional plan that strictly excludes gluten, which is a mixture of prolamin proteins found in wheat (and all of its species and hybrids, such as spelt, kamut, and triticale), as well as barley, rye, and oats. ...

''A. caudatus'' is very high in protein and essential amino acids, such as

lysine Lysine (symbol Lys or K) is an α-amino acid that is a precursor to many proteins. Lysine contains an α-amino group (which is in the protonated form when the lysine is dissolved in water at physiological pH), an α-carboxylic acid group ( ...

, which are typically deficient in plant protein. In terms of nutritional content, ''A. caudatus'' protein is virtually similar to milk protein (

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins (CSN1S1, αS1, aS2, CSN2, β, K-casein, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of ...

), and it complements the nutritional quality of foods derived from flours of corn, rice, or wheat. As a result, ''A. caudatus'' is particularly beneficial for infants, children, and pregnant and lactating women, but also vegetarians and vegans. ''A. caudatus'' is high in dietary fiber and minerals such as iron, magnesium and manganese. Its frequent consumption could help to reduce hypertension and cholesterol. ''A. caudatus'' has also been found to have anthelmintic, antinociceptive, antipyretic, anticancer, antiallergenic, antidiabetic, immune system stimulation, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, and antibacterial properties.

Culinary use and dishes

There are several uses of kiwicha. When ground, it can be used as flour but also as breading for sweets and main dishes when crushed. Seeds can be popped as popcorn on a pan and, like oats, can be eaten with milk as cereals. In Mexico, ''A. caudatus'' is used on sweets with honey and the dish is called "alegria" (meaning "happiness" in Spanish), India has a similar dish called "ladoos". ''A. caudatus'' is slowly making its way outside of Latin America. Cookies and other breakfast food made of kiwicha can be found for example in stores in the United States. Even though kiwicha is gluten free, adding kiwicha flour to wheat when producing leavened food increase the nutritional value of the bread. As flour, ''A. caudatus'' is also used for pasta and noodles formation. Nowadays, and because of its nutritional values, some scientists explored the substitution of some vegetables by amaranth leaves in kenyan traditional dishes and investigated if the vitamins and minerals remain when boiled for instance. Depending on the vegetables used in the mix, minerals and iron uptake can be improved.

Other uses

Animal feed

After the ''A. caudatus'' grains have been removed, the remaining plant material ( stover) can be used for

fodder Fodder (), also called provender (), is any agriculture, agricultural foodstuff used specifically to feed domesticated livestock, such as cattle, domestic rabbit, rabbits, sheep, horses, chickens and pigs. "Fodder" refers particularly to food ...

. During dry seasons when

forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used m ...

is limited, fodder from ''A. caudatus'' stover would be an essential source of animal feed for Andean farmers to maintain their livestock. Additionally, ''A. caudatus'' can be suitable to be used as a high-protein forage crop in the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

Natural dye

In Peru, simple methods have been developed to extract Betalain from red varieties of ''A. caudatus'' to be used as non-toxic red food colouring. For some applications, this natural dye may be used to replace the use of synthetic dyes. However natural dyes tend to have a lower

colour fastness Colour fastness is a term—used in the dyeing of textile materials—that characterizes a material's colour's resistance to fading or running. Colour fastness is the property of dyes and it is directly proportional to the binding force between pho ...

and therefore may not function well as a direct substitution.

References

External links

Information from University of Wisconsin

* ttp://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?290,294,299 Jepson Manual Treatment
Ecoport token
for ''Amaranthus caudatus L.''

(Famine Food Guide website) *
Amaranthus caudatus L.
Medicinal Plant Images Database (School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University)
Crops for the Future: Kiwicha (''Amaranthus caudatus'')
* {{Authority control caudatus Crops originating from South America Flora of Southern America Flora of the Cerrado Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Garden plants of South America Leaf vegetables Pseudocereals