Cosmos atrosanguineus
| Cosmos atrosanguineus | |
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| Species: | C. atrosanguineus
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| Binomial name | |
| Cosmos atrosanguineus | |
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Cosmos atrosanguineus, the chocolate cosmos, is a species of Cosmos, native to Mexico, where it is extinct in the wild. The species was introduced into cultivation in 1902, where it survives as a single clone reproduced by vegetative propagation.[4]
Cosmos atrosanguineus is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 40–60 cm tall, with a fleshy tuberous root. The leaves are 7–15 cm long, pinnate, with leaflets 2–5 cm long. The flowers are produced in a capitulum 3-4.5 cm diameter, dark red to maroon-dark brown, with a ring of six to ten (usually eight) broad ray florets and a center of disc florets; they have a light vanillin fragrance (like many chocolates), which becomes more noticeable as the summer day wears on.[5]
Cultivation and uses
The single surviving clone is a popular ornamental plant, grown for its rich dark red-brown flowers. It is not self-fertile, so no viable seeds are produced, and the plant has to be propagated by division of the tubers, or by tissue culture.[6] It requires partial sun or full sun, and flowers from mid to late summer. It is frost-sensitive (Zones 6-11); in temperate zones, the tuber has to be dug up and stored in a frost-free store over the winter. The flowers of this species are produced in a capitulum 3-4.5 cm diameter, dark red to maroon-dark brown, with a ring of six to ten (usually eight) broad ray florets and a center of disc florets; they have a light vanillin fragrance (like many chocolates), which becomes more noticeable in the summer days.
The variation in flower color from red to black of Chocolate Cosmos and its hybrids results from variation in the amounts of anthocyanins and chalcone present.[7]
References
- ^ The International Plant Names Index
- ^ Tropicos
- ^ The Plant List
- ^ Encyclopedia of Life
- ^ [1]
- ^ Huxley, A. (ed.) 1992. New RHS Dictionary of Gardening 1: 739. Macmillan.
- ^ Amamiya, K., & Iwashina, T. (2016). Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis of Flower Pigments in Chocolate Cosmos, Cosmos atrosanguineus, and its Hybrids. Natural product communications, 11(1), 77-78.
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