Kingdom Plantae Family Amaranthaceae Scientific name Gomphrena haageana Rank Species | Order Caryophyllales Genus Gomphrena Higher classification Gomphrena | |
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Similar Gomphrena, Amaranthaceae, Globe amaranth, Mammillaria haageana, Zinnia angustifolia | ||
Gomphrena haageana (Rio Grande globe amaranth) is a herbaceous perennial that acts as an annual in temperate climates. The most common cultivar is known as Strawberry Fields globe amaranth. It has a red flower reminiscent of a strawberry. It can grow up to 18 inches in height.
Description
Gomphrena haageana iis a perennial herb with a tuberous root, erect, about 20-70 cm, simple to much-branched; stem and branches subround, striped, moderately or thinly appressed-hairy. It has red strawberry-like flower heads. Leaves are narrowly inverted-lanceshaped to linear-oblong, 3-8 x 0.3-1 cm, pointed to rather blunt with a small point at the tip, long-narrowed at the base, rather thinly appressed-hairy on both surfaces, the pair of leaves subtending the at branch-ends inflorescence stalkless, lanceshaped-ovate, long-tapering. Flower-heads are stalkless above the uppermost pair of leaves, spherical, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, sometime finally shortly cylindrical and up to about 6 cm long; bracts about 6 cm, narrowly deltoid-ovate, somewhat plicate, mucronate with the shortly excurrent midrib, bracteoles strongly compressed, boat-shaped, about 10-15 mm, mucronate, with an almost complete crest like that of Gomphrena globosa but generally even wider and more deeply toothed. It is native to Texas and Mexico.
