Annual to 1.5 m tall. Leaves linear to ovate-lanceolate, narrow, to 15 cm long, 2 cm wide with a small point on the tip. Flowers purple, yellow or white to red and orange. Ovary with 4-8 ovules. [C. argentea L.] a tetraploid cultigen used as a bedding plant, with many cultivars falling into two broad groups.

Tropics

Childsii Group Flowers in plumes.

Cristata Group Flowers in dense, rippled, velvety masses produced by the fusion of the stem axes.

Source: Spencer, R. (1997). Amaranthaceae. In: Spencer, R.. Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press. (as Celosia cristata)