''Celosia floribunda'' is a shrub or a small tree of the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae ( ) is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, maki ...

which is endemic to

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

. It reaches a maximum height of The type specimen was collected by

John Xantus John Xantus de Vesey a.k.a. de Csíktaplócza (, 5 October 1825 – 13 December 1894) was a Hungarian exile and zoologist. Xantus (the aristocratic title ''de Vesey'' was an affectation, of which he had several variations) was born Xántus Ján ...

from

Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (, "Luke the Evangelist, Saint Luke Cape (geography), Cape"), also known simply as Cabo, is a Resort town, resort city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, in the Mexican Political divisions of Mexico, state of Baja ...

in Baja California Sur in 1859 and described by

Asa Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botany, botanist of the 19th century. His ''Darwiniana'' (1876) was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessaril ...

in the ''Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences'' Volume 5 published in 1861.

Description

''Celosia floribunda'' is a small tree or shrub with greyish-green striated upper branches which are smooth below the

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

. The leaves grow in lines and are very variable in size and shape with the width varying from 0.5 cm to 11 cm and the length from shape being oblong subhastate or triangularly oval tapering to a point, wedge shaped or rounded at the base with a prominent network of veins with a rough pubescent underside and hairless above. The

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s are 8–40 mm long and frequently have a thin flange of tissue along their length. The abundant flowers are sessile and arranged in long, slender loose spikes which are aggregated in dense

panicle In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

s up to 30 cm in length, the

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s of the flowers are 2 mm long, papery white or straw coloured with faint venation and include 5

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, The stigma are round and brown in colour. Each flower produces 2–4 blackish seeds which are 1.2 mm in diameter.

Ecology

''Celosia floribunda'' is found in gravel plains and washes. The adult

spider wasp Wasps in the family Pompilidae are commonly called spider wasps, spider-hunting wasps, or pompilid wasps. The family is cosmopolitan, with some 5,000 species in six subfamilies. Nearly all species are solitary (with the exception of some group-ne ...

'' Tachypompilus ferrugineus'' uses the flowers of ''C. floribunda'' as a nectar source. It flowers from March to October.

Distribution

''Celosia floribunda'' is endemic to the southern and central parts of the peninsula of

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

References

floribunda Plants described in 1861 Endemic flora of Mexico {{Amaranthaceae-stub