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| − | {{Taxobox_begin | color=lightgreen | name= Amaranth}}
| + | <noinclude><translate><!--T:1--> |
| − | {{Taxobox_image | image = [[Image:Amaranthus tricolor0.jpg|250px|Amaranthus tricolor]] | caption = Joseph's-coat (''Amaranthus tricolor'')}}
| + | </noinclude> |
| − | {{Taxobox_begin_placement | color = lightgreen}}
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| − | {{Taxobox_regnum_entry | taxon = [[Plant]]ae}}
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| − | {{Taxobox_divisio_entry | taxon = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]}}
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| − | {{Taxobox_classis_entry | taxon = [[Magnoliopsida]]}}
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| − | {{Taxobox_ordo_entry | taxon = [[Caryophyllales]]}}
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| − | {{Taxobox familia entry | taxon = [[Amaranthaceae]]}}
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| − | {{Taxobox genus entry | taxon = ''Amaranthus''}}
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| − | {{Taxobox_end_placement}}
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| − | {{Taxobox_section_subdivision | color = lightgreen | plural_taxon = Species}}
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| − | See text
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| − | {{Taxobox_end}}
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| − | The '''amaranths''' (also called '''pigweeds''') comprise the [[genus]] '''''Amaranthus''''', a widely distributed genus of short-lived [[herb]]s, occurring mostly in temperate and tropical regions. Although there remains some confusion over the detailed taxonomy, there are about 60 ''Amaranthus'' species. Several of them are cultivated for their edible [[leaf vegetable|greens]] or [[seed]]s, or as [[ornamental plant]]s.
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| | + | {{ |
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| − | == Food uses == | + | <!--T:7--> |
| − | Historically, amaranth seed was one of the staple foodstuffs of the [[Inca]]s, and it is known as ''kiwicha'' in the [[Andes]] today. The seed was used also by the [[Aztec]]s and other Amerindian peoples in [[Mexico]] to prepare ritual drinks and foods. To this day, amaranth seeds are toasted much like [[popcorn]] and mixed with [[honey]] or [[molasses]] to make a treat called ''alegría'' in Mexican [[Spanish language|Spanish]].
| + | EWP |
| | + | | name = Amaranth |
| | + | | image = Amaranthus tricolor0.jpg |
| | + | | description = Amaranth, is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants. Catkin-like cymes of densely packed flowers grow in summer or autumn. Approximately 60 species are recognized, with inflorescences and foliage ranging from purple and red to green or gold. |
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| − | Amaranth was used in several Aztec ceremonies, where images of their gods were made with amaranth mixed with honey. The images were cut to be eaten by the people. This looked like the [[Christian]] [[eucharist|communion]] to the [[Catholic]] priests, so the cultivation of this seed was forbidden for centuries. Amaranth was recovered from wild varieties.
| + | <!--T:2--> |
| | + | Although several species are often considered weeds, people around the world value amaranths as leaf vegetables and cereals. |
| | + | | range = Worldwide in temperate and tropical zones |
| | + | | seasons = Summer, Fall |
| | + | | use = Amaranth species are cultivated and consumed as a leaf vegetable in many parts of the world. The seeds can be collected and used as a grain (or ground into flour). |
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| − | Amaranth greens (called Chinese Spinach, Yin Tsoi in [[Cantonese]], In Tsai in [[Mandarin]]), are a common [[vegetable]] in [[East Asia]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. The seeds are a crop of moderate importance in the [[Himalaya]].
| + | <!--T:3--> |
| | + | To maximize seed harvest, shake the near-mature seed heads into a paper bag or onto a canvas. If the growing area is large, it is faster to cut the heads all at once when most of the seeds are ripe. The fully ripened heads tend to drop their seeds. |
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| − | Because amaranth seed is very palatable, easy to cook, and its protein particularly well suited to human nutritional needs, interest in this crop (''A. Cruentis'' and ''A. hypochondriaca'') was revived in the [[1970s]].
| + | <!--T:4--> |
| | + | Dry for a week and thresh the heads with gloved hands or feet on canvas as the chaff is somewhat prickly. The seeds may be lost when winnowing because the chaff and seeds are of similar size and the seeds are of a light weight. If you heap uncleaned seeds in a bowl and toss them, the light debris will concentrate on the top and can be blown away. Repeat this until only seeds remain. |
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| − | == Ornamental uses ==
| + | <!--T:5--> |
| − | [[Image:Amaranthus caudatus1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Loves-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus)]]
| + | }} |
| − | The genus contains several well-known garden plants, such as [[Love-lies-bleeding]] (''A. caudatus''), a native of [[India]] and a vigorous, hardy annual with dark purplish [[flower]]s crowded in handsome drooping spikes. Another species ''A. hypochondriacus'', is [[Prince's Feather]], another Indian annual, with deeply-veined lance-shaped leaves, purple on the under face, and deep crimson flowers densely packed on erect spikes.
| + | <noinclude></translate></noinclude> |
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| − | == Myth, Legend and Poetry ==
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| − | '''Amaranth''', or Amarant (from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''amarantos'', unwithering), a name chiefly used in poetry, and applied to Amaranth and other plants which, from not soon fading, typified immortality. Thus [[John Milton|Milton]] ([[Paradise Lost]], iii. 353) --
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| − | <blockquote> | |
| − | :"Immortal amarant, a flower which once
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| − | :In paradise, fast by the tree of life,
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| − | :Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence
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| − | :To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows,
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| − | :And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life,
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| − | :And where the river of bliss through midst of heaven
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| − | :Rolls o'er elysian flowers her amber stream:
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| − | :With these that never fade the spirits elect
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| − | :Bind their resplendent locks."
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| − | </blockquote> | |
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| − | It should be noted that the proper spelling of the word is amarant; the more common spelling seems to have come from a hazy notion that the final syllable is the Greek word anthos, "flower," which enters into a vast number of botanical names.
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| − | In ancient [[Greece]] the amaranth (also called chrusanthemon and elichrusos) was sacred to Ephesian [[Artemis]]. It was supposed to have special healing properties, and as a symbol of
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| − | immortality was used to decorate images of the gods and tombs. In legend, [[Amarynthus]] (a form of Amarantus) was a hunter of Artemis and king of [[Euboea]]; in a village of Amarynthus, of which he was the eponymous hero, there was a famous temple of Artemis Amarynthia or Amarysia (Strabo x. 448; Pausan. i. 31, p. 5).
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| − | == Species (with their common names)==
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| − | [[Image:Amaranthus.hybridus1web.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Green Amaranth (''A. hybridus'')]]
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| − | [[Image:Seabeach Amaranth.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Seabeach amaranth (''A. pumilus''), an [[endangered species]] of amaranth]]
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| − | [[Image:Illustration Amaranthus retroflexus0.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Red-root Amaranth (''A. retroflexus'') - from Thomé <br />F''lora von Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz'' 1885]]
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| − | [[Image:Amaranthus.spinosus1web.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Spiny Amaranth (''Amaranthus spinosus'')]]
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| − | [[Image:Amaranthus.viridis1web.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Green Amaranth (''Amaranthus viridis'')]]
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| − | * [[Greenstripe]], ''Amaranthus acanthochiton''
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| − | * [[Sharplobe Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus acutilobius''
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| − | * White Pigweed, Prostrate Pigweed, Pigweed Amaranth, and White Amaranth, ''Amaranthus albus''
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| − | * [[Sandhill Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus arenicola''
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| − | * [[Southern Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus australis''
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| − | * [[Bigelow's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus bigelovii''
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| − | * [[Mat Amaranth]], aka. Prostrate Amaranth, and Prostrate Pigweed, ''Amaranthus blitoides''
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| − | * [[Purple Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus blitum''
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| − | * [[Brown's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus brownii''
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| − | * [[California Amaranth]], aka. California Pigweed, ''Amaranthus californicus''
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| − | * [[Tidal-marsh Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus cannabinus''
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| − | * [[Loves-lies-bleeding]], aka. Pendant Amaranth, Tassel Flower, and Quilete, ''Amaranthus caudatus''
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| − | * [[Chihuahuan Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus chihuahuensis''
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| − | * ''Amaranthus chlorostachys''
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| − | * [[Spreading Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus crassipes''
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| − | * [[Crispleaf Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus crispus''
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| − | * [[Purple Amaranth]], aka. Red Amaranth, Mexican Grain Amaranth, Prince’s Feather, and Caterpillar, ''Amaranthus cruentus''
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| − | * [[Large-fruit Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus deflexus''
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| − | * [[Spleen Amaranth]], aka. Khada Sag, ''Amaranthus dubius''
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| − | * [[Fringed Amaranth]], aka. Fringed Pigweed, ''Amaranthus fimbriatus''
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| − | ** Fringed Amaranth, ''Amaranthus fimbriatus denticulatus''
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| − | ** [[Fringed Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus fimbriatus fimbriatus''
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| − | * [[Florida Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus floridanus''
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| − | * Amaranthus graecizans (not accepted) = ''Amaranthus albus'' [[Prostrate Amaranth]], Prostrate Pigweed.
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| − | * [[Gregg's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus greggii''
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| − | * [[Smooth Amaranth]], aka. Slim Amaranth, Spleen Amaranth, Green Amaranth, Green Pigweed, Smooth Pigweed, Red Amaranth, and Wild Beet, ''Amaranthus hybridus''
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| − | ** [[Gentleman’s Cane]], ''Amaranthus hybridus erythrostachys''
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| − | * [[Prince-of-Wales-feather]], aka. Princess Feather, ''Amaranthus hypochondriacus''
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| − | * ''Amaranthus leucocarpus''
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| − | * [[Australian Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus lineatus''
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| − | * [[Purple Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus lividus'' (synonym = ''Amaranthus blitum'')
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| − | * [[Quinoa de Castilla]], ''Amaranthus mantegazzianus''
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| − | * ''Amaranthus minimus''
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| − | * [[African Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus muricatus''
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| − | * Amaranthus myrianthus (synonym)(= ''Amaranthus greggii'')
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| − | * [[Trans-Pecos Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus obcordatus''
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| − | * [[Palmer's Amaranth]], aka. Carelessweed, ''Amaranthus palmeri''
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| − | * [[Reuzen Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus paniculus''
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| − | * [[Tropical Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus polygonoides''
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| − | * [[Green Amaranth]], aka. Powell Amaranth and Powell Pigweed, ''Amaranthus powelii''
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| − | * [[Pringle's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus pringlei''
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| − | * [[Seaside Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus pumilus''
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| − | * [[Ataco]], aka. Sangorache, ''Amaranthus quitensis''
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| − | * [[Red-root Amaranth]], aka. Redroot Pigweed, Rough Pigweed, Green Amaranth, Wild Beet, Beetroot, Common Amaranthus, and Careless Weed; ''Amaranthus retroflexus''
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| − | * [[Tall Amaranth]], aka. Common Waterhemp, ''Amaranthus rudis''
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| − | * [[Bone-bract Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus scleropoides''
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| − | * [[Spiny Amaranth]], aka. Prickly Amaranth and Thorny Amaranth, ''Amaranthus spinosus''
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| − | * ''Amaranthus standleyanus''
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| − | * ''Amaranthus tamariscinus'' (synonym = ''Amaranthus rudis'')
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| − | * [[Thunberg's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus thunbergii''
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| − | * [[Torrey's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus torreyi''
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| − | * [[Joseph's-coat]], ''Amaranthus tricolor''
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| − | * [[Rough-fruit Amaranth]], aka. Tall Waterhemp, ''Amaranthus tuberculatus''
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| − | * [[Slender Amaranth]], aka. Green Amaranth, ''Amaranthus viridis''
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| − | * [[Watson's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus watsonii''
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| − | * [[Wright's Amaranth]], ''Amaranthus wrightii''
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| − | == Other things called Amaranth ==
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| − | [[Globe amaranth]] belongs to an allied genus, ''[[Gomphrena]]'', and is also a native of India. It is an annual about 18 inches (450 mm) high, with solitary round heads of flowers; the heads are violet from the colour of the bracts which surround the small flowers.
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| − | Amaranth wood or [[Purpleheart]] is from the unrelated ''[[Peltogyne]]'' ([[Fabaceae]]). It has a unique dark purplish tone to it and is used decoratively.
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| − | [[Amaranth (dye)|Amaranth]] is a dark red to purple [[dye]] once used for [[food additive|colouring food]] but now banned by the [[FDA]].
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| − | == References ==
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| − | * Lenz, ''Botanik der alt. Greich. und Rom.'' Botany of old. (1859)
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| − | * J. Murr, ''Die Pflanzenwelt in der griech. Mythol.'' Plants in Greek Mythology. (1890)
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| − | == External links ==
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| − | {{Commons|Amaranthus caudatus}}
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| − | {{Commons|Amaranthus cruentus}}
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| − | {{Commons|Amaranthus hybridus}}
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| − | {{Commons|Amaranthus tricolor}}
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| − | * [http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/amaranthus_hybridus_thumbnails.htm Amaranthus hybridus]
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| − | * [http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/thumbnails/html/amaranthus_spinosus_thumbnails.htm Amaranthus spinosus]
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| − | * [http://www.hear.org/starr/hiplants/images/600max/html/starr_010520_0109_amaranthus_viridis.htm Amaranthus viridis]
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| − | * [http://flora.huh.harvard.edu:8080/flora/browse.do?flora_id=1&taxon_id=101257 Flora online : Flora of North America]
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| − | * [http://amaranth.twoday.net/topics/Amaranthus+Info/ Amaranthus Info]
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| − | [[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
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| − | [[Category:Caryophyllales]]
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| − | [[cs:Laskavec]]
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| − | [[de:Amarant (Lebensmittel)]]
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| − | [[es:Kiwicha]]
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| − | [[eo:Amaranto nutraĵa]]
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| − | [[fr:Amarante]]
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| − | [[it:Amaranto (alimento)]]
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