Amaranthus is a cosmopolitan genus of annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths.
Some amaranth species are cultivated as leaf vegetables, and or ornamental plants. Most of the Amaranthus species are summer annual plants. Amaranth varies in flower, leaf, and stem colour with a range of striking pigments from the spectrum of maroon to crimson and can grow longitudinally from 1 to 2.5 metres.
There are approximately 75 species in the genus, 10 of which are dioecious and native to North America with the remaining 65 monoecious species endemic to every continent (except Antarctica)