| Cosmos | |
|---|---|
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| C. bipinnatus | |
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| C. sulphureus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae |
| Subfamily: | Asteroideae |
| Tribe: | Coreopsideae |
| Genus: | Cosmos Cav. [1] |
| Synonyms [2] | |
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Cosmos is a genus, with the same common name of cosmos, consisting of flowering plants in the sunflower family. [3] [4]
The generic name Cosmos derives either from the Greek κόσμος (cosmos) ‘(ordered) world’ -in reference to the neat, orderly arrangement of the floral structures [5] - or the Greek κόσμημα (kósmima) ‘jewel’ - in reference to the jewel-like colours of the capitula (composite flowers). [6]
Cosmos are herbaceous perennial plants or annual plants growing 0.3–2 m (1 ft 0 in – 6 ft 7 in) tall. The leaves are simple, pinnate, or bipinnate, and arranged in opposite pairs. The flowers are produced in a capitulum with a ring of broad ray florets and a center of disc florets; flower color varies noticeably between the different species. The genus includes several ornamental plants popular in gardens. Numerous hybrids and cultivars have been selected and named.
Accepted species: [2]
Cosmos species are native to scrub and meadowland in Mexico where most of the species occur. In the United States, some varieties may be found as far north as the Olympic Peninsula in Washington, but the range also extends through Central America to South America as far south as Paraguay [ citation needed ]. One species, C. bipinnatus , is naturalized across much of the eastern United States and eastern Canada. [7]
It is also widespread over the high eastern plains of South Africa, where it was introduced via contaminated horsefeed during the Anglo-Boer War. [8]
Bidens is a genus of flowering plants in the aster family, Asteraceae. The genus include roughly 230 species which are distributed worldwide. Despite their global distribution, the systematics and taxonomy of the genus has been described as complicated and unorganized. The common names beggarticks, black jack, burr marigolds, cobbler's pegs, Spanish needles, stickseeds, tickseeds and tickseed sunflowers refer to the fruits of the plants, most of which are bristly and barbed. The generic name refers to the same character; Bidens comes from the Latin bis ("two") and dens ("tooth").
The Heliantheae are the third-largest tribe in the sunflower family (Asteraceae). With some 190 genera and nearly 2500 recognized species, only the tribes Senecioneae and Astereae are larger. The name is derived from the genus Helianthus, which is Greek for sun flower. Most genera and species are found in North America and South America. A few genera are pantropical.
Eupatorieae is a tribe of over 2000 species of plants in the family Asteraceae. Most of the species are native to tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate areas of the Americas, but some are found elsewhere. Well-known members are Stevia rebaudiana, a number of medicinal plants (Eupatorium), and a variety of late summer to autumn blooming garden flowers, including Ageratum (flossflower), Conoclinium (mistflower), and Liatris.
Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos, Mexican aster or cosmea, is a medium-sized flowering herbaceous plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to the Americas. The species and its varieties and cultivars are popular as ornamental plants in temperate climate gardens.
Tageteae is a tribe of the plant family Asteraceae. It consists of approximately 260 species divided among 32 genera. All are found in the New World, with a center of diversity in the Mexican highlands. The type genus is Tagetes (marigolds).
Dalea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as prairie clover or indigo bush. Its name honors English apothecary Samuel Dale (1659–1739). They are native to the Western hemisphere, where they are distributed from Canada to Argentina. Nearly half of the known species are endemic to Mexico. Two species of Dalea have been considered for rangeland restoration.
Bartlettina is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to tropical regions of Mesoamerica and South America. The genus was erected to house several plants separated from genus Eupatorium.
Fleischmannia is a genus of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. The name honours Gottfried F. Fleischmann (1777–1850), the teacher of Carl Heinrich Schultz at University of Erlangen–Nuremberg. Members of the genus are native to South, Central, and North America, with some species found as far north as Virginia and Illinois. They are commonly known as thoroughworts.
Phalacraea is a genus of South American plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae.
Pluchea is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Inuleae within the family Asteraceae. Members of this genus might be known as camphorweeds, plucheas, or less uniquely fleabanes. Some, such as P. carolinensis and P. odorata, are called sourbushes. There are plants of many forms, from annual and perennial herbs to shrubs and trees, and there is variation in the morphology of leaves, flowers, and fruits.
Viguiera is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It contains around 19–40 species, which are commonly known as goldeneyes and are native to the New World. These are herbs to bushy shrubs that bear yellow or orange daisy-like flowers.
Pectis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1759.
Thelesperma is a genus of North American and South American plants in the cosmos tribe within the sunflower family. Greenthread is a common name for plants in this genus.
Piqueria is a genus of Caribbean and Mesoamerican plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae.
Psacalium is a genus of flowering plants in the sunflower family. Indianbush is a common name for Psacalium.
Tridax is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.
Maurandya is a genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae, native to Mexico and the south west United States. They sprawl or climb by means of twining leaf stalks. One of the four species, Maurandya barclayana, is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant.
Cosmos pacificus is a Mexican species of plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to southwestern and west-central Mexico from Sinaloa to Chiapas.
The South African Light Horse, having no baggage train and living largely off the country, were able to range widely across Natal. How widely can be seen from the spread of the beautiful pink cosmos flower, a native of Argentina which was imported into South Africa in the British Army's horse fodder. Just as cairns on the battlefields mark where soldiers fell, so their route is marked by the pink swathes of cosmos. As my children picked bunches of these lovely flowers for me I wondered if the seeds from which they originated had germinated in the belly of my grandfather's horse as he had ridden that way.
Media related to Cosmos (Asteraceae) at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Cosmos at Wikispecies| Authority control databases: National |
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