amaranth family

American  

noun

1. the plant family Amaranthaceae, typified by herbaceous, often weedy plants having alternate or opposite leaves and small, chaffy flowers without petals in brightly colored dense clusters, including the cockscomb, pigweed, and amaranth.

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Example Sentences

In quinoa’s native Peru, it’s typically served as a topping on rice — which might sound like overkill to the carb-conscious until they understand that quinoa is a member of the amaranth family, a pseudocereal, meaning it’s a plant that looks and acts like a grain but, like millet and buckwheat, isn’t actually one.

From Washington Post

The amaranth family, by contrast, has just 800.

From Washington Post