Amaranthu s is a genus of plants native to America that belongs to the Amaranthaceae family and is made up of about 70 species. The genus, which was described by Linnaeus, groups annual herbaceous plants, some of which are of great nutritional value.
The name of the genus comes from the Greek ἀμάραντος and from the Latin Amarantus, which means "flower that does not wither," a word that also gives its name to the family to which it belongs. The Amaranthaceae are characterized, among other aspects, by always having whole leaves and without laminar structures on the sides of the foliar base.
Amaranthus caudatus. Taken and edited from: Tubifex.
Although some Amaranthus are of commercial importance for their ornamental use or as food, other species on the contrary are considered crop weeds. Among them are some that are difficult to eradicate, such as A. hybridus and A. palmeri, which can be considered pests of soybean crops.
characteristics
Plants of the genus Amaranthus are generally annuals, although there are some that can live for just over a year, which is why they are considered short-lived perennials. They are herbaceous plants that generally have a reddish stem, simple alternate leaves and a striking inflorescence composed of small, densely grouped flowers.
The plant can be monoecious, that is, it can have both male and female flowers, always being unisexual. The flower has a colored bract and the perianth usually consists of three to five free tepals.
The androecium generally consists of 5 separate stamens opposite the tepals. It also has staminodes (sterile stamens) in the same number as stamens, with the filaments free from each other. The anthers for their part are ditheca, versatile, intrusive and present longitudinal dehiscence.
The gynoecium is superb and has two or three united carpels (syncarpus), with a single loculum and a single basal placentation ovum; the style and stigma vary in number between 1 and 3, and the stigma has a bulge (capitate). The fruit is a dry capsule and contains a single seed.
Taxonomy
Medicinal
Among the conditions that are treated with different species of these plants are diarrhea, dysentery, thrush, diabetes, high cholesterol. They also have anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, oxygenating properties, and regulate menstruation.
References
- W. Carmona & G. Orsini (2010). Synopsis of the subgenus Amaranthus (Amaranthus, Amaranthaceae) in Venezuela. Acta Botanica Venezuelica.
- A. de la Fuente. Weeds of the genus Amaranthus in soybean crops. In CropLife Latin America. Recovered from croplifela.org.
- Amaranthus. Recovered from ecured.org.
- M. Moreno & L. Arraiz. The pyre: source of medicinal and nutritional properties. In National Institute of Nutrition. Recovered from inn.gob.ve.
- Amaranth. On Wikipedia. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org.
- J. Tucker (1986). Amaranth: the once and future crop. Bioscience.
- C. Lyre. Amaranthaceae: characteristics, morphology, uses, subfamilies and representative species. Recovered from lifeder.com.