Celosia

Photograph taken by on Monday, May 29, 2017
Celosia

Celosia

Cathy’s been stocking up on her annuals and has begun to put them into containers to go around the house. There are some amazing colors and textures and I thought for today I’d feature this Celosia. Its bright orange flowers are about as close to a flame as you can get and the genus name actually comes from the Greek word keleos (κήλεος) meaning burning.

Cathy has a couple with this flower color and one that is a deep, hot red. They really are something and bloom well in full sun and even light shade. I didn’t know this until recently but apparently it is edible and is cultivated as a leafy green vegetable. According to Wikipedia (caveat emptor, or in this case the eater), “It is traditional fare in the countries of Central and West Africa, and is one of the leading leafy green vegetables in Nigeria, where it is known as ‘soko yokoto’, meaning ‘make husbands fat and happy.’”

Comments are closed.