Chenopodium pallidicaule

Chenopodium pallidicaule, known as qañiwa, qañawa or qañawi (Quechua, hispanicized spellings cañihua, canihua, cañahua, cañahui, also kaniwa, kañiwa) is a species of goosefoot, similar in character and uses to the closely related quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa).

Qañiwa is native to the Andean region, with more than 200 varieties, and it has been farmed in the Altiplano for millennia. As a crop, qañiwa has important beneficial characteristics, including tolerance of high mountain conditions, high protein content, high antioxidant capacity and phenolic content and a lack of the saponins which complicate quinoa use.

Botanical description

Qañiwa is a herbaceous and annual plant. This species is diploid with a chromosome number of 2n = 18. There are two types of this species, which differ in their branching.The lasta type shows high branching, whereas the saguia type is characterized by few branching and its more erected growth. The plant grows to 20–60 cm high and is therefore shorter than its close relative quinoa.