Biological Name:
Amaranthus spinosus (Spiny-Amaranth)
Natural Habitat:
Spiny-Amaranth: This plant is native to North America and can be found in a variety of habitats, including fields, roadsides, and waste areas.
Description:
Spiny-Amaranth also known as Amaranthus is a plant that is native to grassland and prairie regions of North America. It is an annual herb that can grow up to six feet tall and it has small oval-shaped leaves and small inconspicuous flowers that are typically green or yellow in color. The plant is known for its sharp spiny leaves and it is often found in disturbed or degraded habitats.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: What is spiny amaranth used for?
A: Spiny amaranth is also used in folk medicine. Its astringent properties have long been utilized for treating bleeding ulcers and diarrhea. The roots and leaves are also used to treat fevers, eczema, boils, snakebites and nosebleeds. Crushed plants and leaves are also effective in treating minor burns.
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Q: What are the side effects of amaranth?
A: Side-Effects & Allergies of Amaranth Grain For people with intolerance to lysinuric protein, eating amaranth may cause diarrhoea and stomach pain. Moreover, another side effect of lysine increase body’s calcium absorption, and bring free, damage-causing amount of calcium in the body.
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Q: Why did the Spanish ban amaranth?
A: In the 16th century the Spanish conquistadors banned the plant’s cultivation, fearing that the spiritual connection with it would stymie the establishment of Catholicism on the continent. But the Incas and Mayans continued to grow amaranth.
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Q: Can we eat amaranth daily?
A: There are plenty of ways to enjoy amaranth as a part of your daily diet: Boil whole amaranth grain in a 3/1 ratio of water to amaranth to make porridge. Pop dried amaranth like popcorn and eat it as a snack. Put popped amaranth on salads or in soups.
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Q: Is eating amaranth good for you?
A: Amaranth is a nutritious, gluten-free grain that provides plenty of fiber, protein and micronutrients. It has also been associated with a number of health benefits, including reduced inflammation, lower cholesterol levels and increased weight loss.
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Q: Is red amaranth poisonous to humans?
A: Toxicity. Redroot amaranth is toxic to humans, but cases of poisoning are very rare. Soluble oxalate, which can be found in the entire plant, readily bind with calcium and magnesium in the blood reducing the amounts of these electrolytes in your body.
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Q: How is amaranth eaten?
A: Cooked amaranth can be used in soups, stews, chili or in place of rice in most recipes. Amaranth seeds can be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 6 months. Amaranth flour can be used to make muffins, breads, and pancakes.
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Q: Is spiny amaranth poisonous to horses?
A: Toxic components A. spinosus is also a nitrate-accumulating plant, and is able to develop high levels of nitrates under certain environmental conditions which can cause nitrate toxicity in horses.
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Q: Why was amaranth outlawed?
A: In the 16th century the Spanish conquistadors banned the plant’s cultivation, fearing that the spiritual connection with it would stymie the establishment of Catholicism on the continent. But the Incas and Mayans continued to grow amaranth.
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Q: Is amaranth cancerous?
A: Since 1976 Amaranth dye has been banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a suspected carcinogen.
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Q: Does amaranth attract bees?
A: Plan ahead and get seeds of Hopi Red Dye amaranth to plant in this year’s garden or around the flowerbeds. In addition to being a great food source, it attracts bees, butterflies and birds. You can eat the leaves and still collect the seeds.
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Q: What kills spiny amaranth?
A: Growth regulator herbicides such as dicamba or picloram are effective at controlling spiny amaranth, but will also injure or kill any legumes in the pasture. Mowing before the plant reaches maturity can suppress seed production, but even damaged plants may recover and produce seeds.
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Q: Is spiny amaranth an annual or perennial?
A: Spiny amaranth, also known as hogweed, spiny pig- weed, spiny carelessweed, or stickerweed, is an erect summer annual that is a member of the pigweed family (Amaranthaceae). Spiny amaranth is a native to tropical America and can be found throughout Tennessee.
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Q: Can amaranth be poisonous?
A: Avoid eating too much amaranth from agricultural fields. The leaves (like those of spinach, sorrel and many other greens) also contain oxalic acid, which can be poisonous to livestock or to humans with kidney issues of eaten in large amounts.
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Q: Why is amaranth seed banned in the US?
A: Like all azo dyes, Amaranth was, during the middle of the 20th century, made from coal tar; modern synthetics are more likely to be made from petroleum byproducts. Since 1976 Amaranth dye has been banned in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a suspected carcinogen.
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Q: Are spiny amaranth edible?
A: The leaves and stems of Amaranthus spinosus are eaten raw or cooked as a spinach. Remove the spines in older plants. Seed are easy to harvest and very nutritious.
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Q: Is it OK to eat raw amaranth?
A: Amaranth cannot and should not be eaten raw. While there are no known toxicities associated with this grain, cooking it is essential. It has anti-nutrients. Most grains contain anti-nutrients like oxalates and phytates which can bind to vitamins and minerals, leaving them unavailable to your body.
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Q: Is amaranth healthy to eat?
A: Amaranth is a nutritious, gluten-free grain that provides plenty of fiber, protein and micronutrients. It has also been associated with a number of health benefits, including reduced inflammation, lower cholesterol levels and increased weight loss.
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Q: Can wild amaranth be eaten?
A: The plant is edible from tender stems through leaves, flowers and seeds. The cooked leaves can be used variously as simple green side dishes, in quiches, green Mediterranean-style pies, bruschetta toppings, pestos, soups, and saags.
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Q: Is spiny amaranth poisonous?
A: Spiny amaranth is low in palatability; cattle and most livestock will graze around it. However, when other forage is limited it can be consumed, and it does have some known toxicity issues, such as myocardial degen- eration, renal disease and nitrate intoxication.
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Q: What happens if you eat amaranth everyday?
A: The nutrients in amaranth can offer significant health benefits as a part of a healthy diet. It’s a source of vitamin C, which is vital to the body’s healing process because it helps process iron, form blood vessels, repair muscle tissue, and maintain collagen.
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Q: What happens if you eat raw amaranth?
A: Amaranth cannot and should not be eaten raw. While there are no known toxicities associated with this grain, cooking it is essential. It has anti-nutrients. Most grains contain anti-nutrients like oxalates and phytates which can bind to vitamins and minerals, leaving them unavailable to your body.
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