Cosmos | |
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C. bipinnatus | |
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]
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. [5]
It is also widespread over the high eastern plains of South Africa, where it was introduced via contaminated horsefeed during the Anglo-Boer War. [6]
Viburnum is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
Buddleja is a genus comprising over 140 species of flowering plants endemic to Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The generic name bestowed by Linnaeus posthumously honoured the Reverend Adam Buddle (1662–1715), an English botanist and rector, at the suggestion of Dr. William Houstoun. Houstoun sent the first plants to become known to science as buddleja to England from the Caribbean about 15 years after Buddle's death. Buddleja species, especially Buddleja davidii and interspecific hybrids, are commonly known as butterfly bushes and are frequently cultivated as garden shrubs. Buddleja davidii has become an invasive species in both Europe and North America.
Tagetes is a genus of 50 species of annual or perennial, mostly herbaceous plants in the family Asteraceae. They are among several groups of plants known in English as marigolds. The genus Tagetes was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
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").
Bauhinia is a large genus of flowering plants in the subfamily Cercidoideae and tribe Bauhinieae, in the large flowering plant family Fabaceae, with a pantropical distribution. The genus was named after the Bauhin brothers Gaspard and Johann, Swiss-French botanists.
Ageratum is a genus of 40 to 60 tropical and warm temperate flowering annuals and perennials from the family Asteraceae, tribe Eupatorieae. Most species are native to Central America and Mexico but four are native to the United States.
Calceolaria, also called lady's purse, slipper flower and pocketbook flower, or slipperwort, is a genus of plants in the family Calceolariaceae, sometimes classified in Scrophulariaceae by some authors. This genus consists of about 388 species of shrubs, lianas and herbs, and the geographical range extends from Patagonia to central Mexico, with its distribution centre in Andean region. Calceolaria species have usually yellow or orange flowers, which can have red or purple spots. The Calceolaria Herbeohybrida group, also called C. herbeohybrida Voss, is a group of ornamental hybrids known only in cultivation, called florists' slipperwort.
Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly called the garden cosmos or Mexican aster, 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.
Bouvardia is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It contains about 50 species of evergreen herbs and shrubs native to Mexico and Central America, with one species extending into the southwestern United States. The genus is named in honor of Charles Bouvard (1572–1658), physician to Louis XIII, and superintendent of the Jardin du Roi in Paris.
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.
Acmella is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae, described as a genus in 1807. It is native to the Americas and has been introduced to Asia, Africa, the Pacific islands, and Australia.
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.
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.
Pectis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae described as a genus by Linnaeus in 1759.
Xanthocephalum is a genus of North American plants in the tribe Astereae within the family Asteraceae.
Tridax is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae.
Lipochaeta, common name nehe, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae that is endemic to Hawaii.
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.