About Celosia floribunda A.Gray
Celosia floribunda is a small tree or shrub. Its upper branches are greyish-green and striated, and they are smooth below the inflorescence. Its leaves grow in rows, and are very variable in size and shape. Leaf width ranges from 0.5 cm to 11 cm, leaf shape can be oblong, subhastate, or triangularly oval, tapering to a point. The leaf base may be wedge shaped or rounded. Leaves have a prominent network of veins; the underside is roughly pubescent, while the upper surface is hairless. The petioles are 8–40 mm long, and often have a thin flange of tissue running along their length.
This species produces abundant sessile flowers, arranged in long, slender, loose spikes that are aggregated into dense panicles up to 30 cm in length. The flower sepals are 2 mm long, papery, white or straw coloured, with faint venation, and each flower contains 5 stamens. The stigmas are round and brown. Each flower produces 2–4 blackish seeds that are 1.2 mm in diameter.
Celosia floribunda is endemic to the central and southern parts of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico. It grows in gravel plains and washes. Adult spider wasps Tachypompilus ferrugineus use the flowers of C. floribunda as a nectar source. This species flowers from March to October.
