Plant Name
Scientific Name: Cosmos parviflorus
Synonym: Coreopsis parviflora
Common Name: Southwestern Cosmos
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Annual
Growth Habit: Herb/Forb
Arizona Native Status: Native
Habitat: Upland, Mountain. This attractive wildflower grows on forested slopes, in mountain canyons, and in sunny forest clearings.
Flower Color: Light pink, White, Pinkish lavender
Flowering Season: Summer, Fall
Height: Up to 3 feet (0.9 m) tall
Description: The up to 1 1/4 inch (3.2 cm) wide flower heads are on long, slender, leafless stalks and have 8 broadly toothed rays, yellow disks, and 8 long, linear, green sepals. The flowers are followed by slender seeds with 2 to 4 bristly awns. The leaves are green, opposite, and 2-3-pinnately divided into threadlike segments. The plants have a rather sparse, airy appearance.
The similar, commonly cultivated Garden Cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) can sometimes escape cultivation and be seen growing wild in disturbed areas, but it grows taller and has showier, more colorful, 2 to 4 inch (5 to 10 cm) wide flowers.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Asteridae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae – Aster family
Genus: Cosmos Cav. – cosmos
Species: Cosmos parviflorus (Jacq.) Pers. – southwestern cosmos
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