By Maureen Gilmer
DIY--Do It Yourself Network
Cave excavations in Mexico prove people ate these seeds 10,000 years ago. This plant predated corn in the Americas. It may have been the first ever cultivated. Long forgotten in most of our agricultural communities, it has been the staple and life giver to cultures from India to South America and even Quaker, Pennsylvania.
The plant is amaranth, commonly called pig weed. The unwanted annual weed species Amarnathus retroflexus afflicts most gardens across America. It's so highly adaptable that if cut to the ground, the plant becomes ground hugging, branching out from the stump in every direction. Let one weed go to seed and they are with you forever.
This tiny, hard gray weed seed seems hardly a crop, but agricultural strains developed in Latin America produce prodigious amounts of it. Unusually high in protein, it is incorporated into a variety of traditional foods including Aztec ceremonial cakes, candy and mole. Fresh seed rolled on a hot comal or frying pan pops just like mini popcorn, producing a delicious and nutritious snack. You can even find pure amaranth seed in natural foods stores.
Despite its practicality, amaranth is an incredibly beautiful yet underestimated plant for gardens. The most robust species is Amaranthus hyprochondriacus, has been bred to produce vividly colored plants with prodigious seed crops that draw wild birds. The fresh flower heads make fine cut flowers and offer outstanding decorating materials for autumn.
Reaching seven to ten feet in height, plants are often grown in the food garden with corn. But these are so visually unique they should be considered for highlighting ornamental and wildlife garden scenarios too. The blood red, nearly iridescent flowers of Burgundy amaranth hardly appear natural atop towering ten foot green leaf plants. It's shorter cousin Warihio reaches seven feet tall and is distinguished by its vibrant red foliage. This species also produces Golden Giant bearing lime green leaves and dense upright antique yellow flowers.
For smaller gardens, Elephant Head amaranth is a variety of Amaranthus gangeticus. This plant grows only three to five feet tall and is more bushy in form. It is a prominent species in Asia and Africa where the tender new foliage is used for fresh and pot greens. Huge deep red flower heads resemble an elephant's trunk with less symmetry than other amaranths. It's ideal for a cutting garden because the heads will regrow and bloom numerous times throughout the growing season.
Another amaranth that's no stranger to ornamental gardens is love-lies-bleeding. These five foot plants produce uniquely pendulous red flowers that can reach two feet long. These were coveted in Victorian times and still prized by flower arrangers and crafters. It is a form of Amaranthus caudatus that originated in the Andean highlands of Peru. Its seed was a staple known as 'Inca wheat'.
All of these outstanding amaranths and other equally fascinating varieties are available online at Seeds of Change. They are simple to grow because they are really just civilized pig weeds! Grow from seed in warm soil or start ahead indoors in pots with other veggies. Arrange seed in rows or in patches like the Hopi waffle gardens. Mulch well in the heat.
Cut flowers at peak of bloom, and to dry hang upside down in a dark closet to retain as much color as possible. For a seed crop, allow flower heads to remain on the plant where they mature later in the season. Cut the head or bend it into a clean paper bag and shake the seed free. Then winnow off the chaff.
Amaranth is relatively unknown and yet few plants offer so many benefits for so little effort. This winter order your seed to spice up ornamental beds, kitchen garden or add a new look to pots on porch or patio. You'll discover a plant more ancient than corn, cultivated long before the Aztecs entered the Valley of Mexico that still feeds a hungry Third World today.
(Maureen Gilmer is a horticulturist and host of "Weekend Gardening" on DIY-Do It Yourself Network. E-mail her at mo@moplants.com. For more information, visit : www.moplants.com or : www.DIYNetwork.com. Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service.)
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