Gomphrena globosa.
They are annual herbs up to around 65 cm high with prostrate to erect stems.
The branching stems are angled and slightly swollen at the nodes.
Branches have short stiff and long soft hairs that lie flat along the surface.
The opposite leaves are on a petiole up to 1.5 cm long.
Blades are up to around 11 cm long and 5 cm wide.
They can be oblong, ovate, obovate or lance-shaped.
Blades have a round to pointed tip with a mucro and the base is rounded or tapering.
Some leaves have no hairs but most have long silky hairs mainly along the veins on the lower surface.
The pair of leaves under the inflorescence are smaller and have no petiole.
Inflorescences are terminal on the main and axillary side banches.
There is usually only one head but sometimes 2 or 3 heads each with small closely packed flowers.
The roughly spherical heads are up to 2.5 cm across.
Flowers are directly attached to the receptacle (top of the stem).
The 2 bracts and 2 close-fitting bracteoles are at right angles to each other.
Bracts, ovate or heart-shaped are up to 5 mm long.
The bracteoles are up to 12 mm long and 3.5 mm wide.
Bracteoles are folded lengthwise with a thickened keel along the fold.
The keel extends past the membranous wings as a short point.
The 1 mm wide crest along the keel has a toothed edge.
In species plants the bracts and bracteoles are pink, purple or yellow.
Cultivars include lavender, scarlet and crimson.
The 5 narrow lance-shaped tepals are around 6 mm long.
In 2 whorls they are of slightly different lengths.
The outer surface has long very dense white hairs except at the tip.
The stamen filaments are fused into a tube with 5 lobes that are bi-lobed.
The tube is around 6 mm long and the lobes 1 mm.
The anthers are directly attached to the rim of the tube between the lobes.
The superior ovary has 1 locule with 1 ovule.
The style is up to 1 mm long and the 2 linear stigma lobes 1.5 to 2 mm long.
The roughly spherical indehiscent capsular fruit, utricles, are 2.5 mm wide.
Each has 1 shiny brown seed around 1.5 mm long.
J.F.
