Spiny Amaranth
Amaranthus spinosus
Family: Amaranthaceae
What it is like
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. A native of tropical America and is found mainly in warm areas. Common names include: calaloo; needle burr; pigweed; prickly calaloo; prickly callau; prickly caterpillar; spiny amaranthus; spiny calaloo; spiny pigweed; sticker weed; thorny pigweed; wild callau. Spanish: bledo de espina; quelite espinoso. French: amarante épineuse; blette épineuse; brèche de Malabar; epinard malabre. Chinese: tsz-hsien.
Amaranthus spinosus is a ANNUAL growing to 0.6 m (2ft) by 0.2 m (0ft 8in). See above for USDA hardiness. It is hardy to UK zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in leaf from April to October, in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to October. 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. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: mildly acid, neutral and basic (mildly alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Height (m): 0.6
Where it is found
Roadsides, waste places and fields in South-eastern N. America.
Tropical America.
Conservation Status: This taxon has not yet been assessed.
Countries/locations it is found in
How it is used
Food
Rating: 2
Leaves and stems - raw or cooked as a spinach. If older leaves and stems are used the spines must be removed. Highly esteemed. The dried leaves contain (per 100g) 267 - 276 calories, 20 - 34.4% protein, 2 - 4.5% fat, 45 - 54% carbohydrate, 9.8 - 10.4% fibre, 16.6 - 24% ash, 1795 - 5333mg calcium, 333 - 460mg phosphorus, 13.5 - 152.7mg iron, 13 - 37mg sodium, 337 - 3528mg potassium, 27.9 - 40.8mg betacarotene equivalent, 0.06mg thiamine, 2.02mg riboflavin, 7.7 - 8.6mg niacin and 503mg ascorbic acid. Seed - cooked. 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. a valued food plant in Africa. In Thai cuisine, where it is called phak khom and in Tamil mullik keerai.
Seed: includes nuts, cereals, peas and beans.
Medicine
Rating: 3
The seed is used as a poultice for broken bones. The plant is astringent, diaphoretic, diuretic, emollient, febrifuge and galactogogue. It is used internally in the treatment of internal bleeding, diarrhoea and excessive menstruation. It is also used in the treatment of snake bites. Externally, it is used to treat ulcerated mouths, vaginal discharges, nosebleeds and wounds. The plant can be used fresh or it can also be harvested when coming into flower and dried for later use. The root is emmenagogue and galactogogue. A paste of the root is used in the treatment of menorrhagia, gonorrhoea, eczema and colic. It helps to remove pus from boils. The juice of the root is used in Nepal to treat fevers, urinary troubles, diarrhoea and dysentery. It is also used, often combind with the root juice of Dichrophela integra and Rubus ellipticus, to treat stomach disorders and, on its own, to treat indigestion and vomiting that occur after eating unusual foods.
Antidote: Counters poisoning.
Astringent: Produces contraction in living tissue, reducing the flow of secretions and discharges of blood, mucus, diarrhoea etc.
Diaphoretic: Induces perspiration.
Dysentery: Used in treating dysentery - an infection of the intestines that causes diarrhoea containing blood or mucus.
Eczema: Used in the treatment of eczema - a chronic health condition that affects the skin, causing redness, dryness, itching and infections.
Emmenagogue: Promotes or increases the menstrual flow. In early stages of pregnancy it can induce an abortion.
Emollient: Softens the skin, causing warmth and moisture.
Febrifuge: Reduces fevers.
Urinary: Treats urinary problems, including urinary tract infection (UTI).
VD: Used in the treatment of venereal disease
Other
Rating: 1
Yellow and green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant. A red pigment obtained from the plant (the report does not specify which part of the plant) is used as a colouring in foods and medicines.
Dye: Plants that provide dyes.
Dynamic accumulator: Plants that gather minerals or nutrients from the soil and store them in a more bioavailable form and in high concentration in their tissues. Used as fertilizer or to improve mulch.
How it is grown
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.
Propagating it: Seed - sow late spring in situ. An earlier sowing can be made in a greenhouse and the plants put out after the last expected frosts. Germination is usually rapid and good if the soil is warm. A drop in temperature overnight aids germination. Cuttings of growing plants root easily.
Best place to grow: Cultivated Beds;
Habit: Annual
Hardiness: 4-11
Growth:
Soil: Light (sandy), medium, heavy (clay)
Shade: No shade
Moisture: Moist
Things to keep in mind
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.
This plant can be weedy or invasive for a number of crops including beans, coffee, cotton, cowpeas, mangoes, maize, mulberries, oil palms, papayas, pineapples, rice, sorghum, soyabeans, sugarcane, sweet potatoes, tobacco, and vegetables. it is a noted weed in Angola, Brazil, El Salvador, Ghana, Hawaii, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and USA.