Family Amaranthaceae, which contains about 60 genera and more than 800 species of herbaceous plants and a few shrubs, trees, and vines, native to tropical America and Africa.
Globe amaranth ( Gomphrena ) and cockscomb ( Celosia ) are cultivated as ornamentals. The large genus Amaranthus contains the ornamentals love-lies-bleeding ( A. caudatus ) and Joseph's-coat ( A. tricolor ), as well as many weedy plants known as pigweed, especially A. retroflexus . Some Amaranthus species are tumbleweed s, and some are potential high-protein grain crops.