COSMOS SULPHUREUS 
Cosmos — From a Greek word signifying orderliness, hence ornamen- 
tal or beautiful ; sulphurous — alluding to the colour of the flowers 
English name : Cosmos 
Family : Compositae 
Country of origin: Tropical America 
Colour: Yellow or orange. 
Garden use : a quick growing annual suitable 
as a bedding plant, with finely 
cut leaves and showy flowers 
useful for cutting. As in other 
Composites the flowers are 
really flower heads made up of 
closely packed ray and disc 
florets. In Cosmos the number 
of the florets is less than usual. 
Propagation: by seed, which is freely 
produced. 
A, the bracts subtending the flower head. 
B, a flower head in face view showing the few 
very broad ray florets. 
C, a vertical section of a flower head. 
D, a disc floret with tubular corolla and pro- 
jecting cone of stamens. 
E, a later stage of a disc floret after the stigmas 
have pushed through the cone of stamens 
and unfolded. 
