''Amaranthus viridis'' is a cosmopolitan species in the botanical family
Amaranthaceae and is commonly known as slender amaranth or green amaranth.
Description
''Amaranthus viridis'' is an annual herb with an upright, light green stem that grows to about 60–80 cm in height. Numerous branches emerge from the base, and the leaves are ovate, 3–6 cm long, 2–4 cm wide, with long petioles of about 5 cm. The plant has terminal panicles with few branches, and small green flowers with 3 stamens.
Uses
''Amaranthus viridis'' is eaten as a
boiled green or as a
vegetable in many parts of the world.
In the
Northeastern Indian state of
Manipur, it is known as ''cheng-kruk''; it is also eaten as a vegetable in
South India, especially in
Kerala, where it is known as ''kuppacheera'' കുപ്പച്ചീര. It is a common vegetable in
Bengali cuisine, where it is called ''note shak'' ("shak" means leafy vegetable). It a very common vegetable used in Odia Cuisine as Saaga, namely as Kosila Saaga or Marshi Saag in rural areas.
It is also eaten as a vegetable in parts of Africa.
[Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.] The leaves of this plant, known as in
Dhivehi
Dhivehi, also spelled Divehi, may refer to:
*Dhivehi people, an ethnic group native to the historic region of the Maldive Islands.
*Dhivehi language, an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by about 350,000 people in the Republic of Maldives
...
, have been used in the diet of the
Maldives for centuries in dishes such as ''
mas huni''. The Yoruba in West Africa name for this plant is Ewe Tete and is used for medicinal and spiritual purposes.
In the 19th Century ''A. viridus'', or green amaranth was an item of food in Australia. The botanist
Joseph Maiden wrote in 1889: "It is an excellent substitute for spinach, being far superior to much of the leaves of the white beet sold for spinach in Sydney. Next to spinach it seems to be most like boiled nettle leaves, which when young are used in England, and are excellent. This amarantus should be cooked like spinach, and as it becomes more widely known, it is sure to be popular, except amongst persons who may consider it beneath their dignity to have anything to do with so common a weed."
Green amaranth also has clusters of nutty edible seeds, which can be eaten as snacks or used in biscuits. A porridge can be made by boiling the seeds in water. Unlike other amaranths, the seeds can be easily harvested by scraping the ripe spikes of seeds between the fingers.
''Amaranthus viridis'' is used as a medicinal herb in traditional
Ayurvedic
Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...
medicine, under the
Sanskrit name ''Tanduliya''.
Nutrition
Green Amaranth can contain up to 38% protein by dry weight.
The leaves and seeds contain lysine, an essential amino acid.
Related plants
The closely related ''
Amaranthus blitum'' is also eaten. In
Jamaica, it is known as
callaloo. In Greece, it is known as .
''
Amaranthus retroflexus'' is also edible, and sometimes goes by the name "green amaranth".
References
External links
PROTAbase on ''Amaranthus viridis''from HerbiGuide
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3245265
viridis
Flora of New Jersey
Flora of Nepal
Flora of Australia
Leaf vegetables
Plants described in 1763
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
Flora without expected TNC conservation status