Editing Quinoa (section)

== Taxonomy ==
The species ''Chenopodium quinoa'' was first described by [[Carl Ludwig Willdenow]] (1765–1812),{{sfn|Linné|Willdenow|1797|p=1301}} a German botanist who studied plants from South America, brought back by explorers [[Alexander von Humboldt]] and [[Aimé Bonpland]].

Quinoa is an [[allotetraploid]] plant, containing two full sets of [[chromosome]]s from two different species which hybridised with each other at one time. According to a 1979 study, its presumed ancestor is either ''[[Chenopodium berlandieri]]'', from North America, or the Andean species ''Ch. hircinum'', although more recent studies, in 2011, even suggest Old World relatives. On the other hand, morphological features relate ''Ch.{{nbsp}}quinoa'' of the Andes and [[Chenopodium nuttalliae|''Ch. nuttalliae'']] of Mexico. Some studies have suggested that both species may have been derived from the same wild type. A weedy quinoa, ''Ch.{{nbsp}}quinoa'' var. ''melanospermum'', is known from South America, but no equivalent closely related to ''Ch.{{nbsp}}nutalliae'' has been reported from Mexico so far.<ref name="Bazile2014" />

Studies regarding the genetic diversity of quinoa suggest that it may have passed through at least three bottleneck genetic events, with a possible fourth expected:
*The first occurred when the species was created, as its two [[diploid]] ancestors underwent a hybridization followed by chromosome doubling, this new species was genetically isolated from its parent species, and thus lost a great deal of genetic diversity. These ancestors are still not known, but are ''not'' the higher altitude crop species ''[[Chenopodium pallidicaule]]'' (cañahua), a diploid.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Mangelson |first1=Hayley |last2=Jarvis |first2=David E. |last3=Mollinedo |first3=Patricia |last4=Rollano-Penaloza |first4=Oscar M. |last5=Palma-Encinas |first5=Valeria D. |last6=Gomez-Pando |first6=Luz Rayda |last7=Jellen |first7=Eric N. |last8=Maughan |first8=Peter J. |year=2019 |title=The genome of ''Chenopodium pallidicaule'': An emerging Andean super grain |journal=Applications in Plant Sciences |volume=7 |issue=11 |pages=e11300 |doi=10.1002/aps3.11300 |pmc=6858295 |pmid=31832282|bibcode=2019AppPS...7E1300M }}</ref>
*A second bottleneck may have occurred when quinoa was domesticated from its unknown but possible wild [[tetraploid]] form. It might have been domesticated twice: once in the high Andes and a second time in the Chilean and Argentinean lowlands.
*A third bottleneck can be considered "political", and has lasted more than 400&nbsp;years, from the Spanish conquest of the new continent until the present time. During this phase quinoa has been replaced with [[maize]], marginalized from production processes possibly due to its important medicinal, social and religious roles for the indigenous populations of South America, but also because it is very difficult to process (dehusk) compared with maize.
*In the 21st century, a fourth bottleneck event may occur, as traditional farmers migrate from rural zones to urban centers, which exposes quinoa to the risk of further [[genetic erosion]]. Better breeding may also result in loss of genetic diversity, as breeders would be expected to reduce unwanted alleles to produce uniform cultivars, but cross-breeding between local landraces has and will likely produce high-diversity cultivars.<ref name="Bazile2014" />

=== Etymology ===
The genus name ''Chenopodium'' is composed of two words coming from the Greek χήν,-νός, ''goose'' and πόδῖον, ''podion'' "little foot", or "goose foot", because of the resemblance of the leaves with the trace of a goose's foot.{{sfn|Bailly|1935|p=2136}}

The [[specific epithet (botany)|specific epithet]] ''quinoa'' is a borrowing from the Spanish ''quinua'' or ''quinoa'', itself derived from [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]] ''kinuwa''.

The [[Inca Empire|Incas]] nicknamed quinoa ''chisiya mama'', which in Quechua means "mother of all grains".{{sfn|Cumo|2013|p=859}}