Colorful, ornamental leaves are also edible, and may be eaten as a salad vegetable. In Africa, it is cooked as a leafy vegetable. In China and Japan it is usually stir-fried or steamed as a side dish.
Our seed is from the gardens at Monticello. according to their website “Thomas Jefferson included Joseph’s Coat, or “three-colored Amaranth”, in a shipment of seeds to his brother-in-law, Francis Eppes, from Paris in 1786. This brightly-plumed, tender annual is grown for its vibrant yellow and red foliage that provides an eye-catching display of color in the summer border.”