Plant · P-706

Prince Of Wales Feather

Amaranthus hypochondriacus

Prince Of Wales Feather is the most vigorous and heaviest-yielding of the grain amaranths, grown for a popcorn-like seed, spinach-like young leaves, a red food-colouring pigment and yellow and green dyes from the whole plant. It doubles as strong cattle feed and a traditional astringent remedy for diarrhoea and mouth and skin complaints, and its deep roots pull minerals up from the subsoil for the benefit of whatever grows near it. It thrives in hot, sheltered, well-drained ground and shrugs off drought, but it is the slowest of the grain amaranths to ripen seed, so a short growing season can end before the crop matures, and it self-sows freely enough that an unwanted stand needs cutting before it sets seed.