Flora canaria > Especies silvestres
Amaranthus hybridus
Amaranthus hybridus L.
Familia
AMARANTHACEAE
Bledo, Brea, Cenizo, Amaranto, Moco de Pavo
Amaranthus hybridus, commonly known as bledo, quelite or quintonil, is an annual herbaceous plant of the Amaranthaceae family. Although in modern agriculture it is often classified as a hardy weed, it is an ancient superfood native to the Neotropical regions of the Americas, with high nutritional and medicinal value.
It is a generally erect herb that usually measures between 30 and 80 cm, although under optimal conditions it can reach a height of up to 1.5 or 2 metres. It has stiff stems with a slight fuzz on the upper part and alternate leaves that are oval or rhomboidal in shape.
Its flowers grow in clusters of dense spikes that are green, yellowish or deep purple in colour. The seeds it produces are tiny (approximately 1 mm) and have a characteristic disc-like shape.
It is a cosmopolitan, nitrophilic plant that thrives easily on disturbed land, farmland, vegetable gardens and areas with moist or irrigated soil.
Both the tender leaves (quelites) and the seeds of this plant are entirely edible and offer numerous health benefits:
Its seeds are considered a pseudocereal and are notable for containing lysine, an essential amino acid absent from most common cereals.
Its leaves contain a higher proportion of calcium than milk and are an exceptional source of iron (ideal for combating anaemia), magnesium, potassium and vitamins A and C.
In traditional medicine, it is used as an infusion to relieve stomach ache and diarrhoea, and externally as a gargle to treat throat or mouth infections. It is also said to possess antioxidant and neuroprotective properties that aid memory.
La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote
Bledo, Brea, Cenizo, Amaranto, Moco de Pavo
Amaranthus hybridus, commonly known as bledo, quelite or quintonil, is an annual herbaceous plant of the Amaranthaceae family. Although in modern agriculture it is often classified as a hardy weed, it is an ancient superfood native to the Neotropical regions of the Americas, with high nutritional and medicinal value.
It is a generally erect herb that usually measures between 30 and 80 cm, although under optimal conditions it can reach a height of up to 1.5 or 2 metres. It has stiff stems with a slight fuzz on the upper part and alternate leaves that are oval or rhomboidal in shape.
Its flowers grow in clusters of dense spikes that are green, yellowish or deep purple in colour. The seeds it produces are tiny (approximately 1 mm) and have a characteristic disc-like shape.
It is a cosmopolitan, nitrophilic plant that thrives easily on disturbed land, farmland, vegetable gardens and areas with moist or irrigated soil.
Both the tender leaves (quelites) and the seeds of this plant are entirely edible and offer numerous health benefits:
Its seeds are considered a pseudocereal and are notable for containing lysine, an essential amino acid absent from most common cereals.
Its leaves contain a higher proportion of calcium than milk and are an exceptional source of iron (ideal for combating anaemia), magnesium, potassium and vitamins A and C.
In traditional medicine, it is used as an infusion to relieve stomach ache and diarrhoea, and externally as a gargle to treat throat or mouth infections. It is also said to possess antioxidant and neuroprotective properties that aid memory.
La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote
