|
No edit summary
|
No edit summary
|
||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
==Vernacular names== |
==Vernacular names== |
||
*'''English:''' amaranth, Joseph’s coat<ref name="prota">Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.</ref><ref name="protabase">[http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=PROTAB~1&QB0=AND&QF0=Species+Code&QI0= |
*'''English:''' amaranth, Joseph’s coat<ref name="prota">Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.</ref><ref name="protabase">[http://database.prota.org/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?AC=QBE_QUERY&BU=http%3A%2F%2Fdatabase.prota.org%2Fsearch.htm&TN=PROTAB~1&QB0=AND&QF0=Species+Code&QI0=Amaranthus+tricolor&RF=Webdisplay PROTAbase on ''Amaranthus tricolor'']</ref> |
||
*'''French:''' amarante, brède de Malabar<ref name="prota"/><ref name="protabase"/> |
*'''French:''' amarante, brède de Malabar<ref name="prota"/><ref name="protabase"/> |
||
*'''Portuguese:''' amaranto, bredo<ref name="prota"/><ref name="protabase"/> |
*'''Portuguese:''' amaranto, bredo<ref name="prota"/><ref name="protabase"/> |
||
| Amaranthus tricolor | |
|---|---|
| |
| Amaranthus tricolor | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Division: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Binomial name | |
| Amaranthus tricolor | |
Amaranthus tricolor originates from tropical Asia. In South and South-East Asia it is one of the major leaf vegetables and the most important Amaranthus species. Its domestication took place in prehistoric times and the wild ancestor is not known. Weedy plants of Amaranthus tricolor can be found occasionally. They are recently escaped from cultivation, since Amaranthus tricolor is far from competitive with true weeds. Amaranthus tricolor occurs as a quite rare exotic vegetable in several African countries, apparently introduced by Indian immigrants and occasionally cultivated around the big cities, especially in East and southern Africa. Its cultivation has been reported from Benin, Nigeria, Kenya and Tanzania.[1][2]
Amaranthus tricolor is used as a cooked leaf vegetable. In Asian countries it is occasionally eaten raw in salads; the soft stems are eaten like asparagus in India. Forms with bright red and red, yellow and green-coloured leaves are grown throughout the world as ornamentals. Medicinally Amaranthus tricolor is used externally to treat inflammations, and internally as a diuretic.[1][2]
It appears on the coat of armsofGonville and Caius College, Cambridge where it is called "flowers gentle". Some ornamental cultivars have striking yellow, red and green foliage; others are largely green with splashes of colour.
