Gomphrena celosioides

Gomphrena celosioides Mart. ('gomphos'=club, 'celosioides'=resembling Celosia) is a herbaceous perennial belonging to the family Amaranthaceae and a cosmopolitan pioneer plant of disturbed areas, and one of 51 species in the genus.[1]

Gomphrena celosioides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Amaranthaceae
Genus:	Gomphrena
Species:	G. celosioides
Binomial name
Gomphrena celosioides Mart.

This much-branched, prostrate plant is an annual or short-lived perennial, with a deep taproot and is often mat-forming. The opposite, elliptical leaves have short, hairy petioles, are pubescent and some 3–4 cm long. The flowers are in dense terminal spikes and grow on a woolly receptacle; perianth segments are papery, 4–6 mm long, shining, and whitish to pink in colour. It has 2 stigmas and 5 stamens inserted opposite the sepals and joined into a 5-toothed staminal tube. The ovary is superior, developing into a single-seeded fruit. The seed is some 1.5 mm in length, lentil-shaped, brown and glossy, and is routinely distributed by ants.

Originally from the Americas where it is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay, it has become naturalised in Asia in Bhutan, China, Indonesia, Japan, New Caledonia, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Christmas Island and Australia, and Hawaii in the Pacific region, while in the Africa region it is found in Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madeira Islands, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Réunion, Rwanda, Socotra, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.[2][3][4][5]