Amaranth is an herbaceous annual belonging to the family Amaranthaceae with green or red leaves and branched flower stalks (heads) bearing small seeds, variable in color from cream to gold and pink to shiny black. There are about 60 species of Amaranthus, however, only a limited number are of the cultivated types, while most are considered weedy species and hence rarely preserved. Many amaranth species are collected from the wild for subsistence, while only few are cultivated or occur as protected weeds in backyards and home gardens (Stallknecht and Schulz-Schaeffer, 1993; Ouma; Biovision TTU, ICIPE: Keller, 2004). The flowers are used to produce the grain, while the
leaves are used as a green leafy vegetable.
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