Cosmos sulphureus Cav., Icon. 1: 56, plate 79. 1791; Kiger, Fl. North Amer. @ eFloras.org 21: 205; Fl. China @ eFloras.org 20-21: 857.

Plants annual, erect, 30-200 cm tall. Stem usually 1, erect, branched, sparsely hispid or pilose. Leaves opposite; petiole 1-6 cm long with adaxial canal, sparsely hispid; leaf blade up to 13 cm x 14 cm, 2-3 pinnately-lobed, ultimate lobes 2-5 mm wide, ultimate margin entire, sparsely ciliate, apex obtuse, apiculate; upper surface dark green, lower pale green, glabrous, sparse hairs on veins. Capitula radiate, heterogamous, ca. 4 cm across, terminal, solitary on 6-8 cm long peduncle, peduncle striate, sparsely hispid. Calycular bracts 8-9, 5-7 mm x 1 mm, basally connate, spreading-ascending, linear-lanceolate, apex acute to acuminate, green, glabrous. Involucres hemispheric, 6-10 mm in diameter. Phyllaries 8-9 in one series, ca. 10 mm x 1.5 mm, erect, oblong-lanceolate, apices acute to rounded obtuse, persistent. Receptacle hemispherical or conical, paleate, paleae deciduous, ca. 2 cm long, linear. Ray florets: 8-10, mostly in one series, neuter. Corolla yellow to red-orange; tube short, ca. 1 mm long; limb obovate, 18-20 mm x 10 mm, apices truncate, usually 3-denticulate at apex, lobes acute. Pappus absent. Disc florets: 10-20+, bisexual, fertile, 15-16 mm long. Corolla tube shorter than funnelform throat, lobes 5, ca. 2 mm long, deltate, shortly hairy adaxially. Stamens 5, anthers dark red-orange, filaments hairy. Ovary ca. 4 mm long; style branches linear, flattened and thicker distally, hirtellous. Cypselae 15-30 mm long, slender, quadrangular-cylindric or fusiform, slightly arcuate, attenuate-beaked, faces glabrous, each with a longitudinal groove, hispid to scabridulous, rarely glabrous. Pappi persistent, usually of 2 divergent retrosely barbed awns, 1-7 mm long.

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