Which vegetables and pseudograins belong to the amaranth family?
The Amaranthaceae family, which belongs to the order Caryophyllales, includes several important food crops categorized as vegetables and pseudograins.12
Vegetables
Many members of this family are cultivated for their edible leaves or roots:13
* Beets: Various forms of Beta vulgaris include garden beets, sugar beets, and chard.14
* Spinach: Spinacia oleracea is a widely consumed leafy vegetable.14
* Lamb’s quarters: Also known as Chenopodium album, this is another edible leafy plant.14
* Amaranth greens: The leaves of various pigweed species (genus Amaranthus) are used as leafy vegetables similar to spinach.53
* Orach: Garden orach (Atriplex hortensis) has historically been used as a food source.3
Pseudograins
These are nongrass seeds used similarly to cereal grains:5
* Quinoa: Chenopodium quinoa is a highly nutritious pseudograin native to the Andes.13
* Amaranth grains: Species such as love-lies-bleeding (A. caudatus), red amaranth (A. cruentus), and prince’s feather (A. hypochondriacus) are cultivated for their edible, protein-rich seeds.153