Wild Edible Plant of the Week - Green Amaranth

Green Amaranth
Amaranthus viridis

This Wild Edible is not only nutritious, but it also manufactures its own minerals as well. This plant is very good for you and the delicate taste is sometimes more preferred than any other green.

Growing as a “weed” over much of the North American continent, this plant is familiar, though not usually as a food, but as a “nuisance plant”. The stout, rough stalks of this plant can at times reach the height of a man, but is more common half of that height.

The alternately, slightly “fuzzy” dull green leaves are long-pointed with wavy edges. The stems of these leaves are sometimes as long as the leaves themselves. These of which are also edible. The roots are of a reddish color, hence the occasional name of “redroot” or “wild beet”.

The flowers are small and greenish and would not be recognized as a flower. They grow in-between the leaves and stalks in loosely branched, densely filled clusters. These have a pleasant taste raw, but the resulting shiny black seeds have been roasted and ground into flour and made into cakes and soups.

The entire plant can be used as an astringent in a decoction. Yellow and green dyes can be made with this plant.

Next Wild Edible Plant - Lamb's Quarter
Previous Wild Edible Plant - Yellow Nutsedge

Image via -Wikipedia