Albahaca

Celosia virgata Jacq. Coll. Bot. 2: 279. 1788
Lestibudesia virgata R. Br. Prodr. 414. 1810.
Achyranthes rivinaefolia Desf. Cat. Hort. Par. ed. 3. 39, hyponym. 1829.
Stems erect, 5-10 dm. high, herbaceous, or fruticose below, sparingly branched, green, glabrous, striate-angled; petioles shorter than the blades, winged nearly or quite to the base; leaf -blades ovate to lanceolate or elliptic, 4—15 cm. long, 1.5-9 cm. wide, acuminate at the apex, usually with a short slender cuspidate tip, acute or abruptly acuminate at the base, decurrent, entire, thin, green, glabrous, or sparsely pubescent beneath along the nerves, prominently veined, with small petioled falcate leaves often present in the axils; inflorescence of terminal or axillary panicles, these composed of few, sessile or pedunculate, densely flowered spikes 1-5 cm. long and about 7 mm. thick; bracts one third to one half as long as the sepals, lanceolate or ovate, abruptly attenuate to a subulate tip, carinate, often ciliolate; sepals 5-6 mm. long, lance-elliptic, acuminate, dark-brown, firm, prominently parallelveined; stamens about equaling the ovary; style short, much shorter than the utricle, the 3 stigmas shorter than the style; utricle globose-ovoid, shorter than the sepals; seeds 5-8, 0.6 mm. in diameter, nearly smooth, black, lustrous.
Type locality: Not stated.
Distribution: Cuba; Porto Rico; southeastern Mexico; also in northern South America.

Celosia virgata, or albahaca, is found in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands but not in the continental United States. It is a perennial subshrub.