-Plants (Kingdom Plantae)

-Vascular Plants (Phylum Tracheophyta)

-Flowering Plants (Subphylum Angiospermae)

-Dicots (Class Magnoliopsida)

-Pinks, Cactuses, and Allies (Order Caryophyllales)

-Amaranths (Family Amaranthaceae)

-Subfamily Amaranthoideae

-Amaranths (Genus Amaranthus)

Several species of amaranth have been used for food by Native Americans and pre-Columbian civilizations since prehistoric times. Aztecs and peoples of other cultures consumed both the leafy greens and the seeds, and they used the plants as medicinal herbs and as a source of ceremonial face and body paint.