Gomphrena haageana Klotzsch

Unfortunately, the herbarium specimen cited above gives no information as to whether it is merely of cultivated origin, or a chance introduction which might become naturalised. Being a perennial species, it was most likely from a garden.

Plants perennial, not cespitose, 2-7 dm; roots primary, fusiform, fleshy. Stems erect, pilose. Leaves sessile or petiolate; petiole to 2 cm; blade green, oblanceolate to oblong-linear, 3-10 × 0.3-1 cm, apex acute to acuminate, mucronate, pilose. Inflorescences: heads stramineous, globose to short-cylindric, 20-28 mm diam.; bractlets crested along keel. Flowers: tube densely lanate; perianth lobes stramineous, linear-lanceolate, 5.3 mm, hyaline, apex acuminate. Utricles ovoid, 2.2 mm, apex acute. Seeds 1.4 mm.

Perennial herb with a tuberous root, erect, c. 20-70 cm, simple to much-branched; stem and branches subterete, striate, moderately or thinly ± appressed-pilose. Leaves narrowly oblanceolate to linear-oblong, 3-8 x 0.3-1 cm, acute to rather blunt and mucronate at the apex, ± long-attenuate at the base, rather thinly appressed-pilose on both surfaces, the pair of leaves subtending the terminal inflorescence sessile, lanceolate-ovate, long-acuminate. Inflorescence sessile above the uppermost pair of leaves, globose, 2-2.5 cm in diameter, sometime finally shortly cylindrical and up to c. 6 cm long; bracts c. 6 cm, narrowly deltoid-ovate, somewhat plicate, mucronate with the shortly excurrent midrib, bracteoles strongly compressed, navicular, c. 10-15 mm, mucronate, with an almost complete crest like that of Gomphrena globosa but generally even wider and more deeply dentate. Tepals similar to those of Gomphrena celosioides but the inner even more strongly sigmoid and indurate below. Staminal tube subequalling the perianth, the 5 teeth very deeply bilobed, the subulate, acute lobes much exserted beyond the c. 1.5 mm anthers and subequalling them in overall length. Style and stigmas together c. 2.25-2.75 mm, the stigmas about twice as long as the style. Capsule c. 2.5 mm, shortly oblong, compressed. Seed ovoid, compressed, c. 1.75 mm, brown, very faintly reticulate, shining.

N.Mex., Tex.; Mexico (Coahuila, Nuevo León, Sonora).

Flowering fall.

Rocky banks; 1200-1500m.