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Argythamnia heterantha is a shrub from Mexico, grown or gathered mainly for its orange seed endosperm, which is used as a saffron substitute. It is a wild plant rather than a common garden ornamental, so care information is limited.
Argythamnia heterantha is a member of the plant family Euphorbiaceae. It is a shrub native to northern, eastern, and southwestern Mexico.
Argythamnia heterantha has dull, dark brown seeds 3–5 mm in diameter that resemble allspice. The waxy, deep orange endosperm of the seed is used in Mexico (particularly Guanajuato) for coloring and flavoring food, such as menudo amarillo. It has an oil content of about 40% and a protein content of about 20%, as well as containing the apocarotenoids heterathin and ditaxin.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Argythamnia heterantha by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
