Famine Relief Herbal (1593): Edible amaranth

Woodcut illustration of edible amaranth (xiancai, Amaranthus mangostanus)from Jiuhuang bencao (The Famine Relief Herbal), edition of 1593 (21st year of the Wanli reign period of the Ming dynasty, Gui Si year). This herbal was compiled by Prince Zhu Su (?-1425), fifth son of the Ming Taizu Emperor (r. 1368-1398), the founder of the Ming dynasty. It was first engraved for publication in 1525. It contains entries on 414 edible plants, all of them illustrated. The author cultivated most of these plants in his gardens, and lived on the produce. In the text, Zhu Su states: The stem of the edible amaranth grows to 1-2 chi. (1 chi [Chinese foot] = c. 1/3 m.). The stems are ridged, and the leaves are large and of two colours: red or white. The cultivated variety is larger, while the wild plant is smaller and more slender and the leaves are less thick. It is sweet in sapor, cold in thermostatic character, and non-poisonous. It must not be eaten together with turtle meat. In the event of famine, the stems and leaves are collected and boiled till tender. They are then cleaned by immersion in water and eaten with a seasoning of oil and salt.

Edible amaranth (xiancai, Amaranthus mangostanus); the leaves are edible