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Chenopodium quinoa
Also called White Quinoa
Quinoa is a fast-growing annual grown mainly for its protein-rich seeds, which are used like a grain. It does best in cool, dry, high-elevation conditions with good sun and well-drained soil.
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa; , from Quechua kinwa or kinuwa) is a flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is a herbaceous annual plant grown as a crop primarily for its edible seeds; the seeds are high in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins and dietary minerals especially potassium and magnesium in amounts greater than in many grains. Quinoa is not a grass but rather a pseudocereal botanically related to spinach and amaranth (Amaranthus spp.), and originated in the Andean region of northwestern South America. It was first used to feed livestock 5,200–7,000 years ago, and for human consumption 3,000–4,000 years ago in the Lake Titicaca basin of Bolivia and Peru.
The plant thrives at high elevations and produces seeds that are rich in protein. Almost all production in the Andean region is done by small farms and associations.
Over the last 5,000 years the biogeography of Ch. quinoa has changed greatly, mainly by human influence, convenience and preference. It has changed not only in the area of distribution, but also with regard to the climate this plant was originally adapted to, in contrast to the climates on which it is able to successfully grow in now. In a process started by a number of pre-Inca South American indigenous cultures, people in Chile have been adapting quinoa to salinity and other forms of stress over the last 3,000 years. Quinoa is also cultivated, since an early date, near the coast of northern Chile, where it was grown by the Chinchorro culture. Ch. quinoa was brought to the lowlands of south-central Chile at an early date from the Andean highlands. Varieties in the lowlands of south-central Chile derive directly from ancestral cultivars which then evolved in parallel to those of the highlands. It has been suggested that the introduction of Ch. quinoa occurred before highland varieties with floury perisperm emerged.
In their natural state, the seeds have a coating that contains bitter-tasting saponins, making them unpalatable. Most of the grain sold commercially has been processed to remove this coating. This bitterness has beneficial effects during cultivation, as it deters birds and, therefore, the plant requires minimal protection. The genetic control of bitterness involves quantitative inheritance. Although lowering the saponin content through selective breeding to produce sweeter, more palatable varieties is complicated by ≈10% cross-pollination, it is a major goal of quinoa breeding programs, which may include genetic engineering.
The toxicity category rating of the saponins in quinoa treats them as mild eye and respiratory irritants and as a low gastrointestinal irritant. In South America, these saponins have many uses, including as a detergent for clothing and washing, and as a folk medicine antiseptic for skin injuries.
Chenopodium quinoa is believed to have been domesticated in the surroundings of the Lake Titicaca, in the Bolivian and Peruvian Andes, from wild or weed populations of the same species. There are non-cultivated quinoa plants (Chenopodium quinoa var. melanospermum) that grow in the area it is cultivated; these may either be related to wild predecessors, or they could be descendants of cultivated plants.
The increasing demand for quinoa is partially due to the attention it received as a food that may help alleviate food insecurity in some world regions. Quinoa is high in protein, which makes it a possible alternative to meat for vegetarians and vegans, and for people who are lactose intolerant. It also has high concentrations of dietary minerals. Quinoa does not contain gluten. Some studies suggest that consuming quinoa may help improve early indicators of type 2 diabetes. Some of these qualities may have improved the market to economically privileged people in North America, possibly increasing the price of quinoa.
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Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Quinoa 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.
