Amaranthus caudatus is a species of annual flowering
plant. It goes by common names such as love-lies-bleeding,pendant
amaranth, tassel flower, velvet flower, foxtail amaranth, and
quilete.
Many parts of the plants, including the leaves and seeds, are
edible, and are frequently used as a source of food in India and
South America where it is the most important Andean species of
Amaranthus, known as kiwicha. This species, as with many other of
the amaranths, is originally from the American tropics. The exact
origin is unknown, as caudatus is believed to be a wild Amaranthus
hybridus aggregate.
The red color of the inflorescences is due to a high content of
betacyanins, as in the related species known as "Hopi red dye"
amaranth. Ornamental garden varieties sold under the latter name
are either Amaranthus cruentus or a hybrid between cruentus and
Amaranthus powellii. In indigenous agriculture, cruentus is the
Central American counterpart to South American caudatus.
During the Victorian era, specific flowers had different meanings.
Love-lies-bleeding stood for hopeless love or hopelessness in the
Victorian language of flow.
