''Celosia argentea'', commonly known as the plumed cockscomb or silver cock's comb, is a

herb Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distingu ...

aceous

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...

origin in 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 ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

. The plant is known for its very bright colors. In India and China it is known as a troublesome

weed A weed is a plant considered undesirable in a particular situation, growing where it conflicts with human preferences, needs, or goals.Harlan, J. R., & deWet, J. M. (1965). Some thoughts about weeds. ''Economic botany'', ''19''(1), 16-24. Pla ...

Description

''Celosia argentea'' is a tender

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

that is often grown in

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, it can also grow perennially. It blooms in mid-spring to summer. The plant exhibits dodecaploidy. The flowers are tiny and

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

, they are packed in narrow, pyramidal, plume-like heads long with vivid colors including shades of orange, red, purple, yellow and cream. It is propagated by black seeds. The seeds come in capsules; they are extremely small, up to 43,000 seeds per ounce.

Cultivation

A plant of tropical origin, they grow best in full sunlight and should be placed in a well-drained area. Full sunlight means they should get at least 8 hours of direct sunlight. For healthy growth plant them in the area where they get early morning sunlight and afternoon shade. In the afternoon the sunlight is mostly harsh especially in hot summer. Afternoon shade will save the plant from excessive heat. The flowerheads can last up to 8 weeks, and further growth can be promoted by removing dead flowers.

Cultivars

''Celosia argentea'' var. ''cristata'' 'Flamingo Feathers' is a cultivar that can grow up to 2 feet in height. The colors are predominantly pink to light violet, and the leaves are a darker green than other cultivars. The Century cultivars are usually taller (1–2 feet), and are bright red, yellow, orange, or pink. The Kimono cultivars are generally smaller (4 inches – 1 foot), and have more muted colors, though similar to the Century cultivars. Other colors, such as white, burgundy, orange-red, etc., can be found. Certain varieties will grow to 3–4 feet in height. ''Celosia plumosa'', also known as Prince of Wales feathers, is a synonym for ''Celosia argentea''. Seeds may be sold as mixtures. The following strains have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

(confirmed in 2017): *''C. argentea'' var. cristata (Plumosa Group) 'Smart Look Red' *''C. argentea'' var. cristata (Plumosa Group) 'Fresh Look Orange' (Fresh Look Group) *''C. argentea'' var. cristata (Plumosa Group) 'Glow Red' *''C. argentea'' var. cristata (Plumosa Group) 'Century Rose' (Century Group) *''C. argentea'' var. cristata (Spicata Group) 'Flamingo Feather'

Uses

It is used in Africa to help control the growth of the parasitic ''

Striga ''Striga'', commonly known as witchweed, is a genus of parasitic plants that occur naturally in parts of Africa, Asia, and Australia. It is currently classified in the family Orobanchaceae, although older classifications place it in the Scrophul ...

'' plant. It can also be used in

soap Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...

s. It is a natural source of hyaluronic acid, a substance known for its ability to retain water, providing moisture and lubrication in various tissues and used in moisturizers, serums, and other skincare products.

Food

The leaves and flowers are edible and are grown for such use particularly in west Africa and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

. ''Celosia argentea'' var. ''argentea'' or "Lagos spinach" is one of the main

boiled greens Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaf, leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by their Petiole (botany), petioles and Shoot (botany), shoots, if tender. Leaf vegetables eaten ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, where it is known as ''soko yòkòtò'' ( Yoruba) or ''farar áláyyafó'' (

Hausa Hausa may refer to: * Hausa people, an ethnic group of West Africa * Hausa language, spoken in West Africa * Hausa Kingdoms, a historical collection of Hausa city-states * Hausa (horse) or Dongola horse, an African breed of riding horse See also ...

).Hanelt ''et al.'', ''Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops'', 200
Google Books
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Images

File:Celosia argentea (Silver cockscomb) W IMG_0985.jpg, Silver cockscomb ''Celosia argentea'' File:青葙 20190422202856.jpg, Celosia argentea. 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition, Taiwan. File:Celosia.JPG, ''

Celosia cristata ''Celosia argentea'' var. ''cristata'' (formerly ''Celosia cristata''), known as cockscomb, is the cristate or crested variety of the species '' Celosia argentea''. It is likely native to India, where it was saved from extinction through cultivat ...

'' File:Plumed cockscomb (Celosia argentea).JPG, Plumed cockscomb flower and an insect on it. Image:Silver cockscomb (Celosia argentea) in Hyderabad, AP W IMG 7949.jpg, Around the fields in

Hyderabad, India Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

File:青葙 20190422202754.jpg, Celosia argentea. 2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition, Taiwan. File:JardimBotanicoCuritiba.04.2008.JPG, Colored varieties used as

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

in the

Botanical Garden of Curitiba The Jardim Botânico de Curitiba, also known in English as the Botanical Garden of Curitiba and formally referred to as Jardim Botânico Fanchette Rischbieter, is a prominent park situated in Curitiba, the capital of the States of Brazil, state of ...

Southern Brazil The South Region of Brazil ( ) is one of the five regions of Brazil. It includes the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina, and covers , being the smallest region of the country, occupying only about 6.76% of the territory of ...

File:Celosia argentea in Serbia.jpg, Celosia argentea, Serbia

References

External links

General Information
on NC State University Plant Fact Sheets

{{Authority control argentea Leaf vegetables Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus