1,551 Purple Amaranth Grain Food Amaranthus cruentus was domesticated as a pseudo-cereal (grain amaranth) in Central America. Amaranthus cruentus with yellowish white or pale brown seed, is traditionally grown as a cereal crop in Latin America (e.g. Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Colombia). Since colonial times, it has been successfully introduced as a pseudo-cereal in India and Nepal, in mountain areas as well as at lower elevation, and it has become well established as a popular food plant. 2,038