Amaranth

         Amaranth comes in several colors.  Some varieties are green, some are red, and some are golden.  Whatever color, the plant is beautiful!  It grows really tall and reminds me of a sunflower.  While some varieties grow up to 16 inches, some will grow up to 64 inches or taller.  The usually red or golden seeds grow in long tasseled bunches.  This year my dad grew Giant Golden Amaranth.  The plants grew taller than me!  Their colors were gold tinged with orange, as the season waned, and they weathered the drought better than most of the garden.


Close up on Amaranth leaves

Henry and I with young Amaranth in the spring

      While the plant is still quite young, the leaves are delicious in salads.  The mature leaves are good cooked as spinach (which reminds me, one of the Amaranth varieties is known as wild spinach).  However, the tough, leaves are bitter.  The seed is used as flour when ground.  I have made baked goods with Amaranth, but it was so fine that my flapjacks were mushy and delicate.  It was better when I used it with another flour, such as buckwheat or spelt.  I’ve also made a hot cereal with the whole seeds.  It was really good!  Cooked amaranth has a similar consistency to corn grits, but softer.  I added butter and maple syrup…YUM!  I’ve read that in Mexico the seeds are popped like popcorn and then sugar, salt, or honey is added.  DELICIOUS!

Close up on Amaranth seeds

             I haven’t used Amaranth for medicinal purposes, but I am looking forward to it.  It is used to control diarrhea when taken internally (which is when you eat it like spinach or oatmeal) and to treat wounds.  This herb also contains astringent, soothing properties. 

TIDBIT: Amaranth is also used in the coloring of foods and medicines.  There are varieties that produce yellow, red, and brown dyes.

            I have watched this plant grow in our garden from seedlings to giants.  Amaranth is a beautiful plant and I can’t wait to work with it more.  Next week’s herb is also known as Leopard’s bane and is well known for its treatment of bruises.

 

 

Artimesia (Wormwood)

          Wormwood, true to its name, kills internal parasites such as round and thread worms.  I know.  It sounds gross.  I’ve read of a folktale that Wormwood first sprang up from the impressions that the serpent left in the ground when he slithered out of the Garden of Eden.  Of course, in herbal books you have to read around the superstitions of some traditional herbalists. Wormwood was also traditionally used as a flea repellent.  Here’s a little poem:

“White wormwood hath seed, get a handful or twaine,

to save against March, to make flea to refrain.

Where chamber is sweeped and wormwood is strewn,

no flea for his life, dare abide to be knowne.”

This poem comes from Thomas Tusser’s Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie.  It was written in 1573.

            Wormwood grows to a height of 3 feet and a width of 4 feet.  It has tiny yellow flowers and grayish green leaves.  This hardy, partial-evergreen grows wonderfully in Indiana. 

            Other than expelling worms, Wormwood is used to treat problems with poor digestion and wind.  It’s also used for fevers, menstrual problems, and nerve tonics. 

WARNING:  If used continually, wormwood may cause convulsions, restlessness, and vomiting.  Too much may cause vertigo, cramps, intoxication, and delirium.  So, do not use unsupervised.

            As I always say, I look forward to growing this herb myself.  I’ve been wondering if there is a way to make a wormer for my goats…  Well, next week’s herb is one that my dad actually grew this year.  It grew taller than me and its second name is Pigweed.