Amaranthus viridis Seeds | Slender Amaranth
LATIN NAME: Amaranthus viridis
COMMON NAME: Slender Amaranth, Green Amaranth
Plant Profile
Slender Amaranth is a soft, green annual of the amaranth family, probably native to tropical America and now pantropical, growing twenty to eighty centimetres tall with tender, ovate leaves and slender, green flower spikes. It thrives in gardens, roadsides and cultivated ground across the warm world, one of the most widely gathered wild greens of the tropics.
It grows fast, seeds itself readily, and tolerates poor, hot, dry ground that defeats most vegetables. Cooked like spinach, the leaves are mild and nourishing, and the plant carries no red pigments, which keeps its colour in the pot. The stems are fleshy and pale green, and the whole plant lacks the red pigment common in the amaranths, which keeps the cooked leaves a clean, dark green. The flower spikes are green, unshowy and borne in the leaf axils, and the small, wrinkled black seeds pour from the thin capsules in showers when ripe.
Science & Biotechnology
The species is a C4 photosynthesis plant, the hot-climate pathway that underpins the amaranth family’s productivity, and agronomic research has examined it as a resilient, fast-growing vegetable for smallholder systems in warm climates.
Its nitrate and oxalate content has been studied for food safety, with the standard conclusion that boiling and discarding the water, the universal practice, manages both; the plant’s protein-rich leaves are otherwise a substantial food. Studies across tropical agriculture have ranked it among the fastest-maturing leaf vegetables, with first harvest possible within a month of sowing in warm, moist conditions. Botanists note its weedy versatility: the species has followed human cultivation around the tropics for centuries, and its seeds germinate readily after passing through digestive tracts, which spread it along trade routes.
Uses & Benefits
Across Africa, Asia and the Caribbean the tender leaves are a staple green, sold in bunches in every market and cooked like spinach with remarkable nutritional density: protein, iron, calcium and vitamins in a leaf that costs nothing to grow.
In the garden it is a cut-and-come-again vegetable of the hot season, and its self-seeding habit means one sowing can supply a corner of the plot for years, weeded where unwanted and harvested where wanted. In West Africa and South Asia it appears under many local names in market bunches, and its tolerance of poor soil makes it a standard garden-margin crop where other greens fail. Cooks steam or boil the leaves briefly, since overcooking turns them slimy, the one technical fault the plant’s cuisine shares with okra and other mucilage-rich greens.
Growing from Seed
Sow the tiny seed onto the surface of a loose, warm mix without covering it deeply, and keep it consistently moist; warmth decides germination, so wait for the soil to warm before sowing outdoors.
Thin the seedlings to a hand-width apart, water through dry spells, and start picking the tender tips about a month after sowing; regular picking keeps the plant producing new shoots until frost. Sow successions every few weeks through the warm season for a steady supply of tender tips, since plants left unpicked soon toughen and run to seed. Save seed by letting one strong plant stand unpicked to spike; a single plant produces enough seed for years of sowings and for sharing.
Our Take
The people’s spinach of the tropics: fast, generous, and growing in the poorest ground. Warm soil, steady moisture, and a hand that keeps picking.
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