Spleen Amaranth (Amaranthus dubius)
Description
Amaranthus dubius, the red spinach, Chinese spinach, (simplified Chinese: 苋菜; traditional Chinese: 莧菜; pinyin: xiàncài), spleen amaranth, hon-toi-moi, yin choy, or hsien tsai is a plant species. It belongs to the economically important family Amaranthaceae. This plant is native to Asia, Europe and Africa,with origin most likely in the Indian subcontinent.[citation needed] In Tamil Nadu (India) the plant is known as "Araikeerai". In general 'Keerai' means 'greens' in Tamil. In Telugu it is called 'yerra thotakura'. In Kerala, it is called "Cheera" (ചീര). Usually it grows to a size of 80–120 cm. It has both green and red varieties, as well as some with mixed colors. The green variety is practically indistinguishable from Amaranthus viridis. It flowers from summer to fall in the tropics, but can flower throughout the year in subtropical conditions. It is a ruderal species, usually found in waste places or disturbed habitats. Amaranthus dubius is considered to be a morphologically deviant allopolyploid. It is very close genetically to Amaranthus spinosus and other Amaranthus species.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Caryophyllales
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Family: Amaranthaceae
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Genus: Amaranthus
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