Celosia (redirected from Coxcomb (plant))

Celosia 

a genus of annual or perennial herbaceous plants of the family Amaranthaceae. The stems are erect, and the alternate leaves range from linear to ovate. The numerous small flowers are bisexual and gathered in spicate or panicled inflorescences; they are shiny, with a coloration of white, yellow, pink, or red. There are about 60 species, distributed in subtropical and tropical Africa and America. A few species occur in Asia. Best known is C. argentea, a cosmopolitan species whose cultivated forms—C. argentea var. cristata and C. argentea var. plumosa—are raised, most often in the south, as ornamental annuals known as cockscombs. The first variety has broad, fascicled, lenticular inflorescences, and the second has pyramidal panicles. The flowers are used in winter bouquets.