Amaranth

From Ardesia

Amaranth is a leafy grain crop that sports bright red flowers in upright sprays. It is cultivated in Tayel's Swift Valley. Amaranth grain is milled for flour and pressed for amaranth oil. The flowers are harvested to make a rich red dye used to dye cloth and in writing inks. Amaranth greens, called amaro, are nutritious and are a staple of spring and summer meals.

The farmers of the valley plant the amaranth crop during the spring. The amaranth fields near the river are diked and irrigated such that the Swift's spring floodwaters are channeled into the paddies while passing through as few in succession as possible to limit the impact of water-borne crop diseases. Amaranth is grown in the Valley above the floodplains as well, and though the maximum yield is less there, the dryer conditions mean fewer fields lost to blights.