Wheat or Wheatstraw Celosia

Celosia argentea ‘Ruby Parfait’

se-LO-see-uh   ar-JEN-tee-uh  

Synonyms of Celosia argentea (39) (Updated on 11-10-23 from Plants of the World Online): Amaranthus cristatus (L.) Noronha (1790), Amaranthus huttonii H.J.Veitch (1872), Amaranthus purpureus Dodoens ex Nieuwl. (1914), Amaranthus pyramidalis Noronha (1790), Celosia argentea var. cristata (L.) Kuntze (1891), Celosia argentea f. cristata (L.) Schinz (1934), Celosia argentea var. linearis E.Vilm. (1866), Celosia argentea var. margaritacea (L.) Iamonico (2013), Celosia argentea var. mumbaiana M.R.Almeida (2003), Celosia argentea var. plumosa (Barr & Sugden) Bakh.f. (unknown publication), Celosia argentea var. vera Kuntze (1891), *Celosia aurea J.Dix (1860), *Celosia aurea T.Moore (1861), Celosia castrensis L. (1762), Celosia cernua Roxb. (1820), Celosia cernua Andrews (1811), Celosia coccinea L. (1762), Celosia comosa Retz. (1791), Celosia cristata L. (1753), Celosia cristata var. castrensis (L.) Iamonico (2013), Celosia cristata var. humilis Hassk. (1842), Celosia debilis S.Moore (1916), Celosia huttonii Mast. (1872), Celosia japonica Houtt. (1777), Celosia japonica Mart. (1814), Celosia linearis Sweet ex Hook.f.(1885), Celosia margaritacea L.(1762), Celosia marylandica Retz. (1783), Celosia pallida Salisb. (1796), Celosia plumosa Barr & Sugden (1866), Celosia purpurea J.St.-Hil. (1808), Celosia pyramidalis Burm.f. (1768), Celosia spicata Barr & Sugden (1866) (nom. illeg.), Celosia splendens Schumach. & Thonn. (1827), Celosia stricta Hornem. (1819), Celosia swinhoei Hemsl. (1891), Chamissoa margaritacea (L.) Schouw (1847), Chamissoa stricta (Hornem.) Schouw (1847), Lophoxera comosa (Retz.) Raf. (1837), Lophoxera racemosa Raf. (1837). *POWO replaced Celosa aurea T.Moore (1861) with Celosia aurea J.Dix (1860). Most other databases still say Celosia aurea T.Moore so I have included both which makes 40 rather than 39 synonyms as shown on POWO. The editor of POWO said they found an earlier publication. The International Plant Names Index (IPNI) does not include Celosia aurea J.Dix as of 11-7-22 when this page was updated. I’m sure they will have it soon.

Celosia argentea are great plants and come in several shapes and sizes. Many cultivars are available to fit your needs and are easy to grow from seed.

As you see from the above list, there is a long list of synonyms for Celosia argentea. You will notice they are offered online (and catalogs) as Celosia argentea, Celosia argentea var. spicata, Celosia argentea var. cristata, Celosia spicata, Celosia cristata, etc. At the moment Celosia argentea is the accepted scientific and the other names are synonyms. It doesn’t particularly matter what growers call their plants as long as you get what you are looking for.

Celosia argentea L. is the accepted scientific name for the Cockscomb. The genus and species were both named and described as such by Carl von Linnaeus in the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.

As of 11-8-22 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Oline by Kew lists 46 species in the Celosia genus. It is a member of the plant family Amaranthaceae with 183 genera. Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.

THERE ARE SEVERAL LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.

I bought my Celosia ‘Ruby Parfait’ seeds from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in the spring of 2012. I really liked these and saved seeds. They grew to about 3 feet tall by the end of the season and flowered right until the end. The butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees really love them. They are a great summer performer and don’t mind the heat at all.

The description of the Celosia argentea ‘Ruby Parfait’ said they have “arrow-shaped” spikes that grow 2-3″ long.

They perform best in full sun where they grow anywhere from 2-3 feet in height. Their flowers are a vivid reddish pink that fades toward the bottom of the spike as they grow longer.

I know the above photo isn’t that good. I had to borrow a friend’s camera for a while and I didn’t realize the setting wasn’t right. Anyway, you can tell clearly after several months, the “arrow-shaped” description of the flowers does not apply. They grow longer, up to 6+ inches and the spikes are loaded with hundreds of flowers.

I saved seeds from the Celosia ‘Ruby Parfait’ in 2012 so I could plant them in Missouri in 2013, but as I mentioned in the Celosia argentea ‘Cramer’s Amazon’ page, they cross-pollinated. So, when the seeds came up, the seedlings had bi-color leaves… But, just look at those flowers!!! Later on, the leaves had turned completely green.

When I planted seeds in 2014, I used seeds I knew were pure. I didn’t take any photos of them after this photo. They did very well but I didn’t save any seeds. So, someday I will have to buy again.

I really liked the Celosia spicata ‘Ruby Parfait’ for their garden performance and bright flower color.

I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. If you notice I made an error, please let me know.

There isn’t much online about the Celosia argentea ‘Ruby Parfait’, so if you have grown this plant, I would appreciate your comments…

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS/SPECIES)
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY