Is this a weed?
This plant is quite tall, with big green-purplish leaves and long red inflorescence, which resembles a brush or even a broom 🙂 Is it actually a garden flower or just a weed? Please, help me to identify this plant.
Looks like a species of Amaranthaceae family. Some kind of Amaranth.
I think it is Amaranthus cruentus, definitely a garden plant and one you could eat. In Mexico, it is called huautli and alegría and in English it has several common names, including Blood amaranth, Red amaranth, Purple amaranth, Prince’s feather, and Mexican grain amaranth.
Weed = plant where it is unwanted. This one looks pretty! I’d say not a weed 🙂
We have posted an article here on Snaplant about edible Amaranthus species. Check it out. It’s an interesting plant. In a 1977 article in Science, amaranth was described as “the crop of the future.”
