Food Plants International - Plant Fact Sheets Amaranthus tricolor - Chinese Amaranth
Edible Portion: Leaves, Seeds, Vegetable, Flowers, Leaves - Tea
A herb about 1 m high and spreads 45 cm wide. A small annual leafy green. An upright, much branched annual with a thin membrane covering the stems. Sometimes the plant lies over. The stems are angular. The plant branches in the upper part of the plant. It is smooth and grows from seed each year. Leaves have long leaf stalks which can be 5-10 cm long. Leaves vary in shape, size and colour. The leaf blade can be 5-25 cm long by 2-6 cm wide. Leaves are dull purplish and the top leaves can be yellow or red. Some types have coloured leaves or patterns on the leaves. It has a clumpy seed head at the top. The flower spike at the top can be 30 cm long. The seed are 1-1.2 mm across and black.