Amaranthus tricolor (Amaranthus mangostanus)

Family: Amaranthaceae | Edibility: Edible (2/5)

Amaranthus mangostanus is a ANNUAL growing to 1.5 m (5ft). It is frost tender. It is in leaf from April to October, in flower from June to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The species is monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and is pollinated by Wind. The plant is self-fertile.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Nuts/Seeds, Leaves, Shoots

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer, Spring

Flavor & Culinary Uses

Leaves - cooked as a spinach or eaten raw. Seed - cooked. A cereal substitute. Very small, about 1mm in diameter, but easy to harvest and very nutritious. — Leaves - cooked as a spinach or eaten raw.; A cereal substitute.; Very small, about 1mm in diameter, but easy to harvest and very nutritious.; The seed can be cooked whole, and becomes very gelatinous like this, but it is rather difficult to crush all of the small seeds in the mouth and thus some of the seed will pass right through the digestive system without being assimilated.

Habitat & North American Range

Waste land and roadsides in the Himalayas. (Zone 4, Zone 5, Zone 6, Zone 7, Zone 8)