Common Amaranth Grains, Style : Dried

Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths.

Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, pseudocereals, and ornamental plants. 

Most of the Amaranthus species are summer annual weeds and are commonly referred to as pigweeds

Grain amaranth has been grown in Latin America for thousands of years and is thought to have been domesticated at least as early as 4000 BC. 

In pre-Columbian times in the New World it was almost as important as maize and beans,and it is thought to have provided 80% of the caloric consumption of the Aztecs.