GARDEN: Amaranth: Hot 'new' plant was sacred to the Aztecs (RECIPES, HERBS, HEALTH)

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Amaranth: Hot 'new' plant was sacred to the Aztecs

By Lee Reich, Associated Press

05-20-2006

For the hottest new plant on the block, grow amaranth. This plant offers

edible leaves that rival spinach, a nutritious grain, and leaves and

flowers in splashy colors.

As is so often the case, " new " is really just " old " rediscovered.

Amaranth was a sacred plant to the Aztecs, domesticated thousands of

years ago.

You probably already know about two or three of the amaranths.

Love-lies-bleeding is a large, annual plant grown for its magenta

flowers. The tiny flowers cluster from the ends of the stems like velvet

bellpulls.

If you don't know love-lies-bleeding, perhaps you know ph's coat,

another amaranth of the flower garden. This amaranth actually has sedate

flowers - it is the leaves that glow in shades of scarlet, gold, and green.

If you garden at all, there is one amaranth that you surely know:

pigweed. This is a common weed of vegetable gardens because it likes the

same rich soils enjoyed by vegetables. Pigweed, as well as

love-lies-bleeding and ph's coat, have all been used for food. With

almost 20 percent protein that is rich in lysine, amaranth seeds are

more nutritious than those of most other grains.

Eat the seeds by popping them or grinding them into flour. The seeds

start to scatter as they ripen, so it's best to cut off the seed heads

before thoroughly dry. Then dry them and knock off the seeds in a paper bag.

Amaranth leaves also are nutritious, being especially rich in calcium,

iron, and vitamins A and C. Species grown for their showy flowers or

leaves, or for their grain, have been grown as summer " spinach, "

sometimes called tampala or Chinese spinach.

All amaranths are tough plants, unfazed by heat, drought or pests. They

don't tolerate cold, though, so have to be started indoors or else sown

directly outdoors about the same time you would sow beans or corn.

For eating, plant in rows about 8 inches apart, then thin the plants to

8inches apart within the rows if you want grain, or 2 inches apart if

you want the leaves.

You can start eating the leaves about a month after planting.

In the flower garden, clusters of one to three plants are sufficient to

make a bold statement.

No single species or variety of amaranth - and there are several - is

going to give you the most colorful and tastiest leaves, the showiest

flowers, and the largest yield of grain.

So plant a variety of amaranth according to which of this plant's many

qualities appeals to you the most.

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