4.
Celosia argentea
Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 205. 1753.
Silver cockscomb
Herbs,
annual.
Stems
erect, to 1 m, glabrous.
Leaves:
petiole 1-3 cm; blade unlobed, ovate, lanceolate, or nearly linear, 8-15 × 1-6 cm, base tapering, apex long-acuminate.
Inflorescences
dense cylindric or ovoid spikes, units 13-20 mm diam.
Flowers:
tepals silvery white or pinkish, 3-veined, 6-8 mm, scarious, translucent; style elongate, 4 mm, indurate and exserted at maturity; stigmas 3.
Utricles
4 mm.
Seeds
3-8, 1.5 mm diam., smooth, shiny.
2
n
= 72.
Flowering summer. Waste places, weedy areas; 0-1400 m; introduced; Ala., Fla., Ind., Ky., La., Md., N.J., N.C., Pa., S.C., Tenn., Tex., Utah, W.Va.; West Indies; South America; native to Asia (India).
Celosia argentea
is locally escaped from cultivation, and perhaps originally native to India.
