- Amaranthus tricolor
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Amaranthus tricolor 
Amaranthus tricolor Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Core eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Amaranthaceae Genus: Amaranthus Species: A. tricolor Binomial name Amaranthus tricolor
L.Amaranthus tricolor is an ornamental plant known as Bhaji in India, Callaloo in the Caribbean and Joseph's coat after the Biblical figure Joseph, who is said to have worn a coat of many colors. Although it is native to South America, many varieties of amaranth can be found across the world in a myriad of different climates due to it being a C4 carbon fixation plant, which allows it to convert carbon dioxide into biomass at an extremely efficient rate when compared to other plants. Cultivars have striking yellow, red and green foliage.
The leaves may be eaten as a salad vegetable as well as the stems. In Africa, it is usually cooked as a leafy vegetable. [1] It is usually steamed as a side dish in both China and Japan.
It appears on the coat of arms of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge where it is called "flowers gentle".
References
- ^ Grubben, G.J.H. & Denton, O.A. (2004) Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA Foundation, Wageningen; Backhuys, Leiden; CTA, Wageningen.
External links
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