AMARANTUS BLITUM. 



Professor Church in his " Food Grains of India," p. 109, thus describes the 

 nutritive value of the seeds of this plant : — 



" The analysis shows that we have in these seeds a food in which the proportions, not merely 

 " of albuminoids to total starch, plus the starch equivalent of the oil, but also of the oil itself, are 

 " very nearly those of an ideal or standard ratio." 



The following are included as synonyms under A. gangeticus in the Flora of British 

 India : — 



(1) . A. tristis of Linnaeus Roxburgh says he has never found wild; "it is held in 



great esteem by all ranks of the natives, and is much cultivated by 

 them ; it grows readily all the year round if watered." 



(2) . A. lanceolatus, Roxb., the leaves and tender tips of which are eaten by the 



natives in their curries, is called ' bdns-pata natiya ' (bamboo-leaved 

 amaranth) by the Bengalees. 



(3) . A. oleraceus, Roxb., a variety of which grows from 5-8 feet in rich soil, 



and the tender succulent tops of the stem and branches are sometimes 

 served up on our tables as a substitute for asparagus (Roxburgh 1. c). 



(4) . A. lividus, Roxb., has bright red stem and petioles, its leaves are dull 



greenish -purple, with brighter coloured nerves and veins. 



Explanation of Plate LXVII. 



). Male flower. 3. Seed (enlarged). 



2. Female ditto* 4. „ (nat. size). 



AMARANTUS BLITUM, Linn* 



Var. OLERACEUS. 



This plant differs from A. gangeticus in having smaller and more obtuse leaves, 

 the bracts and sepals also are much shorter and not awned. It is a cultivated variety 

 of a common wild plant. 



It is impossible to say to what extent the plant is grown in these Provinces, as it 

 bears no other distinctive vernacular name than chaulai. It is very probable that 

 much of the information given under its botanical name refers to A. gangeticus. Atkin- 

 son says that it is sometimes grown along the edges of fields in the submontane tract 

 as a pot-herb ; and that, like all the amaranths, it is one of the phaldhas, or food-grains 

 which Hindus may eat during fasts. He gives as its vernacular name chamli sag, which 

 Roxburgh assigns to his A. polggamus, which latter is a synonym of A. gangeticus, L. 



The seed is said to be prepared in various ways, either parched and eaten with milk 

 and sugar, or made into ladies (sweetmeat balls). 



' References :— PI. Br. iDd., IV., 721 ; Watt, Diet. Econoni. Prod , III., 301 ; Atkinson, Him. Diet., C97. 



