Amaranthus hypochondriacus is an ornamental plant commonly known as Prince-of-Wales feather or prince's-feather.[1] Originally endemic to Mexico, it is called quelite, bledo[2] and quintonil in Spanish.[3] [4]
In Africa and El Salvador, like many other species in the family Amaranthaceae, it is valued as source of food.[5] The leaves and seeds are very nutritious and have a mild flavor. The seeds also contain phenolic compounds.[6]
In temperate regions, it is cultivated as a half-hardy annual. Numerous cultivars have been selected, of which 'Green Thumb'[7] and 'Pygmy Torch'[8] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. It grows best in well-drained soils in full sun, and is suitable for USDA hardiness zones 3–10. It may be susceptible to aphids.[9]
A. hypochondriacus is a vigorous, upright plant that typically reaches NaNround=5NaNround=5 tall.[10] It is often grown for its flowers, which appear in dense, catkin-like inflorescences in the summer and autumn. They are usually deep purplish-red, but may be yellow-green. These give way to dry fruits, about NaNfrac=32NaNfrac=32 long, that split open when ripe. The fruits contain smooth, shiny seeds that may be subglobose to lenticular, either whitish-pink or dark reddish-brown to black, and NaNfrac=64NaNfrac=64 in diameter. The leaves are simple and alternately arranged, with entire margins.[11] They are rhombic-ovate to broadly lanceolate in shape, about NaNfrac=2NaNfrac=2 long and NaNfrac=2NaNfrac=2 wide, borne on long peduncles.[12]
. Phillips, Edward . The New World of Words. 7th ed . 1720 . Edward Phillips. The New World of English Words .
Oficina Regional de para América Latina y el Caribe
. https://web.archive.org/web/20110110075046/http://www.rlc.fao.org/es/agricultura/produ/cdrom/contenido/libro11/cap4.htm . 2011-01-10 . dead .Colección Etnobotánica
. https://web.archive.org/web/20110722231127/http://www.ibiologia.unam.mx/herbario/galerias/colecciones_asociadas/pages/Semillas_amaranto.html . 2011-07-22 . dead .Centro Universitario de Biológicas y Afropecuarias
. https://web.archive.org/web/20110102153342/http://www.cucba.udg.mx/sitiosinteres/coaxican/plts_mex/amaranto/amaranto.htm . 2011-01-02 . dead .