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(also known as Amaranthus edulis, Amaranthus mantegazzianus )

To the Quechua people of South America,  A. caudatus is referred to as kiwicha, quihuicha, inca jataco; ataco, ataku, sankurachi, jaguarcha (Ecuador), millmi, or coimi. While to the Aymara people, who are native to the Andes and Altiplano regions of South America, A. caudatus is known as qamasa.

Description
A. caudatus is most recognizable for its striking flowering panicles that can reach up to 90cm long. The colour of these highly dense flowering panicles ranges can be black, red and more commonly white. The red varieties of  A. caudatus are due to a high content of betacyanins.

Each panicle is self-pollinating and the fruits each contain a single small seed, no larger than 1 mm in diameter. Like quinoa, each seed has a shiny coat and the embryo is curved around the small endosperm. The panicles grow from lateral buds and from the main stem.

A. caudatus is an annual, broad-leaved dicotyledon with a central stem that grows from a taproot system. Depending on the variety, A. caudatus can reach up to 2.5m tall. Leaves and side branches grow outward from the central stem and may start as low as the base of the plant.

Animal Feed
After the A. caudatus grains have been removed, the remaining plant material (stover) can be used for fodder. During dry seasons when forage is limited, fodder from A. caudatus stover would be an essential source of animal feed for Andean farmers to maintain their livestock.

Additionally, A. caudatus can be suitable to be used as a high-protein forage crop in the tropics.

Natural Dye
In Peru, simple methods have been developed to extract Betalain from red varieties of Kiwicha to be used as non-toxic red food colouring. For some applications, this natural dye may be used to replace the use of synthetic dyes. However natural dyes tend to have a lower colour fastness and therefore may not function well as a direct substitution.