Amaranthus caudatus

Origin: Tarija, Bolivia

Improvement status: Landrace

Seeds per packet: ~210

Germination tested 10/2024: 98%

Life cycle: Annual

This lovely South American amaranth comes from the Bolivian town of Tarija. It came to the US thanks to a Bolivian researcher named Fernando Guillen-Portal, who provided a sample to Rodale Institute around 1990. Rodale had an extensive program evaluating amaranths, but this one never made it into their system. Thankfully, they supplied some to the USDA, which maintains it at the North Central Plant Introduction Station in Ames, Iowa.