Rio Grande Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena haageana)
Description
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 (46 cm) in height. Gomphrena haageana is a perennial herb with a tuberous root, erect, about 20–70 cm (8–28 in), 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 (1.2–3.1 x 0.1–0.4 in), 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 (0.8–1.0 in) in diameter, sometime finally shortly cylindrical and up to about 6 cm (2.4 in) long; bracts about 6 cm (2.4 in), narrowly deltoid-ovate, somewhat plicate, mucronate with the shortly excurrent midrib, bracteoles strongly compressed, boat-shaped, about 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in), 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.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Caryophyllales
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Family: Amaranthaceae
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Genus: Gomphrena
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