Green amaranth (Amaranthus viridis, Sp. pl. ed. 2, 2:1405. 1763)

Family: Amaranthaceae

Author: L.

Bibliography: Sp. pl. ed. 2, 2:1405. 1763

Year: 1805

Status: accepted

Rank: species

Genus: Amaranthus

Vegetable: False

Observations: SE. Mexico to Trop. America

Description

Green amaranth, scientifically known as Amaranthus viridis, is a species identified by Linnaeus in the year 1763 as documented in the second edition of “Species Plantarum”. This resilient and versatile plant is part of the Amaranthaceae family, a group renowned for its hardy and adaptive members.

Native to regions extending from southeastern Mexico down to tropical areas in the Americas, Green amaranth is a testament to the rich biodiversity found in these climates. The plant thrives in various environments, making it a common sight in both cultivated gardens and wild landscapes alike.

Green amaranth is characterized by its vibrant green leaves, which provide not only visual appeal but also nutritional value. Traditionally, these leaves have been consumed as a leafy vegetable in numerous cultures, celebrated for their richness in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. The plant’s versatility extends to its use in animal feed and as a source of natural dyes.

Beyond its utilitarian functions, Green amaranth plays an essential role in ecological systems. It serves as a habitat and food source for various insects and animals, contributing to the overall health of its native ecosystems. The plant’s robust nature allows it to grow in adverse conditions, thus preventing soil erosion and enriching the soil with organic matter as it decomposes.

Overall, Green amaranth (Amaranthus viridis) is more than just a plant; it is a vital component of the tropical Americas, exemplifying the connectivity between human needs and environmental sustainability.

Common Names

Fra: amarante verte
Ita: amaranto verde
Spa: blero manso, amarant, amaranto, bledo, blet, blet punxent, marxant
Deu: grüner amarant, zierlicher fuchsschwanz
Eng: prince-of-wales-feather, slender amaranth, green amaranth, pigweed, tropical green amaranth, callaloo
Dan: slank amarant, smal amarant
Heb: yarbuz adin, ירבוז עדין
Por: bredo-verde, cararu, caruru
Ell: glintos, lepto vlito
Ces: laskavec zelený
Swe: smalamarant
En: Green amaranth, Tropical green amaranth, Pigweed, Prince-of-Wales-feather, Slender amaranth, Callaloo, Bledo
Ar: كبشو لجان (كَبشو لِجان)
Ca: Amarant gràcil
Zh: Zhou guo xian
Cs: Laskavec zelený
Da: Slank amarant, Smal amarant
Fr: Amarante verte, Passe-velours, Fleur de jalousie, Brède pariétaire blanc, Amarante couchée, Amarante étalée, Amarante livide, Amarante Blite, Amarante queue-de-renard, Blé des Incas, Queue-de-renard, Amarante échancrée
De: Grüner Amarant, Zierlicher Fuchsschwanz, Grüner Fuchsschwanz
El: Glintos, Lepto vlito
He: Yarbuz adin, ירבוז עדין
It: Amaranto verde
Pt: Cararu, Bredo-verde, Caruru
Pt-br: Bredo, Carurú-comum, Carurú-de-mancha, Carurú-de-porco, Carurú-de-soldado
Es: Bledo, Blero manso, Amarant, Amaranto, Blet, Blet punxent, Marxant, Quelite verd
Sv: Smalamarant

Synonyms

• Amaranthus littoralis (Bernh. ex Moq.)
• Galliaria adscendens (Bubani)
• Glomeraria viridis ((L.) Cav.)
• Amaranthus gracilis (Desf. ex Poir.)
• Albersia polystachya ((Willd.) Kunth)
• Amaranthus polystachyus (Buch.-Ham. ex Wall.)
• Euxolus polystachyus ((Willd.) Miq.)
• Albersia caudata ((Jacq.) Boiss.)
• Albersia gracilis ((Desf.) Webb & Berthel.)
• Euxolus caudatus var. maximus (Moq.)
• Chenopodium caudatum (Jacq.)
• Pyxidium viride ((L.) Moq.)
• Amaranthus fasciatus (Roxb.)
• Euxolus viridis ((L.) Moq.)
• Euxolus caudatus var. gracilis (Moq.)
• Euxolus caudatus ((Jacq.) Moq.)

Distribution

• Argentina Northeast (native)
• Argentina Northwest (native)
• Aruba (native)
• Bahamas (native)
• Belize (native)
• Bolivia (native)
• Brazil North (native)
• Brazil Northeast (native)
• Brazil South (native)
• Brazil Southeast (native)
• Brazil West-Central (native)
• Cayman Is. (native)
• Colombia (native)
• Costa Rica (native)
• Cuba (native)
• Dominican Republic (native)
• Ecuador (native)
• El Salvador (native)
• French Guiana (native)
• Galápagos (native)
• Guatemala (native)
• Haiti (native)
• Honduras (native)
• Jamaica (native)
• Leeward Is. (native)
• Mexico Southeast (native)
• Netherlands Antilles (native)
• Nicaragua (native)
• Panamá (native)
• Paraguay (native)
• Peru (native)
• Puerto Rico (native)
• Trinidad-Tobago (native)
• Turks-Caicos Is. (native)
• Uruguay (native)
• Venezuela (native)
• Windward Is. (native)
• Afghanistan (introduced)
• Alabama (introduced)
• Aldabra (introduced)
• Algeria (introduced)
• Andaman Is. (introduced)
• Angola (introduced)
• Arizona (introduced)
• Arkansas (introduced)
• Ascension (introduced)
• Assam (introduced)
• Austria (introduced)
• Azores (introduced)
• Baleares (introduced)
• Bangladesh (introduced)
• Benin (introduced)
• Borneo (introduced)
• Burkina (introduced)
• Cambodia (introduced)
• Cameroon (introduced)
• Canary Is. (introduced)
• Cape Provinces (introduced)
• Caroline Is. (introduced)
• Central African Repu (introduced)
• Chad (introduced)
• Chagos Archipelago (introduced)
• China North-Central (introduced)
• China South-Central (introduced)
• China Southeast (introduced)
• Christmas I. (introduced)
• Comoros (introduced)
• Congo (introduced)
• Cook Is. (introduced)
• Corse (introduced)
• Cyprus (introduced)
• Czechoslovakia (introduced)
• Denmark (introduced)
• Djibouti (introduced)
• East Aegean Is. (introduced)
• East Himalaya (introduced)
• Egypt (introduced)
• Eritrea (introduced)
• Ethiopia (introduced)
• Fiji (introduced)
• Finland (introduced)
• Florida (introduced)
• France (introduced)
• Free State (introduced)
• Gabon (introduced)
• Gambia (introduced)
• Georgia (introduced)
• Ghana (introduced)
• Gilbert Is. (introduced)
• Greece (introduced)
• Guinea (introduced)
• Guinea-Bissau (introduced)
• Gulf of Guinea Is. (introduced)
• Gulf States (introduced)
• Guyana (introduced)
• Hainan (introduced)
• Hawaii (introduced)
• India (introduced)
• Iraq (introduced)
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• Ivory Coast (introduced)
• Japan (introduced)
• Jawa (introduced)
• Kenya (introduced)
• Korea (introduced)
• Kriti (introduced)
• Krym (introduced)
• Kuwait (introduced)
• Laccadive Is. (introduced)
• Laos (introduced)
• Lebanon-Syria (introduced)
• Lesser Sunda Is. (introduced)
• Libya (introduced)
• Line Is. (introduced)
• Louisiana (introduced)
• Madeira (introduced)
• Malaya (introduced)
• Maldives (introduced)
• Mali (introduced)
• Maluku (introduced)
• Manchuria (introduced)
• Marianas (introduced)
• Marquesas (introduced)
• Marshall Is. (introduced)
• Masachusettes (introduced)
• Mauritania (introduced)
• Mauritius (introduced)
• Mexico Northwest (introduced)
• Mexico Southwest (introduced)
• Michigan (introduced)
• Mississippi (introduced)
• Morocco (introduced)
• Mozambique (introduced)
• Myanmar (introduced)
• Nansei-shoto (introduced)
• Nauru (introduced)
• Nepal (introduced)
• New Caledonia (introduced)
• New Guinea (introduced)
• New Mexico (introduced)
• New South Wales (introduced)
• New York (introduced)
• New Zealand North (introduced)
• Nicobar Is. (introduced)
• Niger (introduced)
• Nigeria (introduced)
• Niue (introduced)
• Norfolk Is. (introduced)
• North Carolina (introduced)
• North Caucasus (introduced)
• Northern Provinces (introduced)
• Northern Territory (introduced)
• Ohio (introduced)
• Oman (introduced)
• Pakistan (introduced)
• Palestine (introduced)
• Pennsylvania (introduced)
• Philippines (introduced)
• Phoenix Is. (introduced)
• Pitcairn Is. (introduced)
• Primorye (introduced)
• Queensland (introduced)
• Québec (introduced)
• Rodrigues (introduced)
• Réunion (introduced)
• Samoa (introduced)
• Sardegna (introduced)
• Saudi Arabia (introduced)
• Senegal (introduced)
• Seychelles (introduced)
• Sicilia (introduced)
• Sierra Leone (introduced)
• Sinai (introduced)
• Society Is. (introduced)
• Solomon Is. (introduced)
• South Australia (introduced)
• South Carolina (introduced)
• South China Sea (introduced)
• Spain (introduced)
• Sri Lanka (introduced)
• St.Helena (introduced)
• Sudan (introduced)
• Sulawesi (introduced)
• Sumatera (introduced)
• Suriname (introduced)
• Sweden (introduced)
• Tadzhikistan (introduced)
• Tanzania (introduced)
• Tennessee (introduced)
• Texas (introduced)
• Thailand (introduced)
• Togo (introduced)
• Tokelau-Manihiki (introduced)
• Tonga (introduced)
• Transcaucasus (introduced)
• Tuamotu (introduced)
• Tubuai Is. (introduced)
• Tunisia (introduced)
• Turkmenistan (introduced)
• Uganda (introduced)
• Uzbekistan (introduced)
• Victoria (introduced)
• Virginia (introduced)
• Wake I. (introduced)
• West Himalaya (introduced)
• Western Australia (introduced)
• Yemen (introduced)
• Zambia (introduced)
• Zaïre (introduced)
• Zimbabwe (introduced)

Additional Images

Flower

Taken Jun 1, 2021 by Fernando da Luz Schmidt (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 26, 2019 by Franco Colnago (cc-by-sa)

Taken Oct 19, 2020 by Sanjaime Thais (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 2, 2021 by Círculo de Fuego (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 19, 2017 by Richard Ballas (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Taken Dec 14, 2018 by Paulo Paulo (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jun 1, 2021 by Fernando da Luz Schmidt (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 9, 2021 by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jun 25, 2021 by Someshwar Lodhi (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jan 7, 2020 by delile gilles (cc-by-sa)

Bark

Taken Aug 28, 2021 by Tali Shapiro (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 18, 2019 by Tela Botanica − Patrick Leboulenger (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 20, 2020 by Hamdan Adinugroho (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 27, 2021 by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 9, 2021 by Maarten Vanhove (cc-by-sa)

Habit

Taken Nov 13, 2014 by Thiago Flores Flores (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 3, 2022 by Acosta García Isabel (cc-by-sa)

Taken Oct 15, 2020 by Ikhsan Rakhmat Harahap (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 18, 2022 by gary w (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jan 27, 2019 by Carolina Correa V Dias Carolina (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Taken Jul 27, 2022 by piopio kiki (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jun 19, 2022 by Beth rose (cc-by-sa)

Taken Sep 8, 2022 by SVETLANA ANDREEVA (cc-by-sa)

Taken Aug 20, 2021 by Gisella (cc-by-sa)

Taken Jul 14, 2022 by Muñoz Hernández (cc-by-sa)

Other

Taken May 17, 2011 by OTS – Oviedo-Brenes, Federico (cc-by-nc-sa)

Taken May 17, 2011 by OTS – Oviedo-Brenes, Federico (cc-by-nc-sa)

Taken May 17, 2011 by OTS – Oviedo-Brenes, Federico (cc-by-nc-sa)

Taken Oct 15, 2019 by Photoflora – Jean-Luc TASSET (©)

Taken Oct 15, 2019 by Photoflora – Jean-Luc TASSET (©)

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

© copyright of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Sources

• WFO (No URL)
• IPNI (No URL)
• POWO (http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:316349-2)
• GBIF (https://www.gbif.org/species/5384334)
• PlantNet (https://identify.plantnet.org/species/the-plant-list/Amaranthus viridis L.)

Specifications

Growth