Amaranthus bidentata

Blume

Lanceleaf ragweed

Amaranthaceae Edible: Seeds, Leaves Potential hazards — see below

No photos yet for Amaranthus bidentata

Summary

Amaranthus bidentata is a frost-tender annual reaching 0.9 m (3 ft) tall. It is monoecious with wind-pollinated flowers and self-fertile. The plant grows in light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with good drainage, tolerating mildly acid to basic pH. It requires full sun and moist conditions, and cannot establish in shade.

Description

Edible Uses

Leaves are edible cooked and used as a spinach. Seeds are also edible when cooked — very small and fiddly but highly nutritious. Cooking the seeds whole makes them gelatinous, and because they are difficult to crush fully in the mouth, some will pass through the digestive system without being fully assimilated.

Traditional Uses

The leaves and young plant are eaten cooked. The seeds are ground into flour and used to make bread. CAUTION: This plant can accumulate nitrates if grown with high nitrogen inorganic fertilisers and these are poisonous.

Medicinal Uses

The leaves are antiphlogistic, diuretic, emmenagogue, and tonic.

Known Hazards

No members of this genus are known to be poisonous, but when grown on nitrogen-rich soils they are known to concentrate nitrates in the leaves. This is especially noticeable on land where chemical fertilizers are used. Nitrates are implicated in stomach cancers, blue babies and some other health problems. It is inadvisable, therefore, to eat this plant if it is grown inorganically.

Distribution

It grows naturally in roadsides and waste places in China.

Where It Grows

Asia, China,

Cultivation

We have very little information on this species and do not know how well it will grow in Britain, though it should succeed as a spring-sown annual. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus. Prefers a well-drained fertile soil in a sunny position. Requires a hot sheltered position if it is to do well. Plants should not be given inorganic fertilizers, see notes above on toxicity. Most if not all members of this genus photosynthesize by a more efficient method than most plants. Called the 'C4 carbon-fixation pathway', this process is particularly efficient at high temperatures, in bright sunlight and under dry conditions.

Propagation

Sow seed in late spring in situ. Germination is usually rapid and good in warm soil; a drop in overnight temperature aids germination. For an earlier start, sow in pots in a greenhouse, prick out seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle, and plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of growing plants root easily.