Amaranth

amaranth, (genus Amaranthus), genus of 60–70 species of flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae, distributed nearly worldwide. Several amaranth species are useful as food crops and are grown both for their leaves and for their edible seeds, which are a nutritious pseudocereal (nongrass seeds used like cereal grains). A number of species, including love-lies-bleeding (Amaranthus caudatus), prince’s feather (A. hypochondriacus), and Joseph’s coat (A. tricolor), are common garden ornamentals. Several species are considered weeds.