Amaranthus caudatus Love-Lies-Bleeding

LATIN NAME: Amaranthus caudatus

COMMON NAME: Love-Lies-Bleeding

The love-lies-bleeding is a tall, bold, striking annual of the gardens, and its long, hanging, tassel-like spikes of the deep-red or green flowers have made it one of the most dramatic of the border plants. It grows as a tall annual, reaching up to a metre and a half or more, with the stout, upright stems bearing the alternate, oval, long-stalked, often red-flushed leaves and, through the summer and the autumn, the long, hanging, tassel-like, often branched spikes of the many tiny, deep-red or green flowers, followed by the many small, shiny seeds. It is a species of the flowering plant in the amaranth family, and it is native to the South America, while it is grown in the gardens of the world, and it is known as the love-lies-bleeding.

The love-lies-bleeding belongs to the amaranth family, Amaranthaceae, and it is a species of the tall annual, native to the South America, while it is grown as a striking border plant, and it is known as the love-lies-bleeding. It is prized for its long, hanging, tassel-like spikes of the deep-red flowers.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The love-lies-bleeding has a real and growing place in the research. It has been studied in the horticulture, since its long, hanging, tassel-like spikes of the deep-red flowers have made it a striking plant of the border, and researchers have examined its growth, its flowering and its cultivation, while its dramatic bloom has drawn attention in the international horticultural press as a plant of the border. The plant has also been studied in the botany and the ecology, since it is a native of the South America, and its relationships, its distribution and its role in the garden have been examined, while the study of the amaranths has been of continuing interest, and the diversity of the genus has been of value to the gardeners. The species has also been studied in the food science, since the small seeds of the amaranths are rich in the valuable nutrients, and researchers have examined the seeds and their composition, while the value of the amaranth grain as a food has been of continuing interest across the world, and the seeds have been used as a nutritious grain of the region. For a plant of such drama, the love-lies-bleeding has a rich and continuing record of study.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the love-lies-bleeding is a generous plant of the garden. Its long, hanging, tassel-like spikes of the tiny flowers feed the many small insects, and its tall, bold stems give a fine, dramatic presence to the border and the back of the bed. Its hanging tassels of the deep red are among the most distinctive sights of the late-summer garden, and they sway with every passing breeze. It is a bold and cheerful plant of the back of the bed, and it grows on with very little fuss, its tassels hanging long into the autumn.

Its economic value is real. The love-lies-bleeding is prized for its dramatic, long-flowering spikes, and its value has drawn attention in the international horticultural and food press as a plant of the border, while the nutritious seeds of the amaranths have also been valued as a food of the many lands. For a grower, the love-lies-bleeding is an easy and rewarding annual, and for a gardener it brings a long, hanging, deep-red tassel through the summer. The seeds are easy to start — sow them just below the surface of a pot of moist, free-draining soil, keep them lightly watered, and they’ll be sprouting readily, growing on into a tall, bold, tassel-spiked annual.