Kenikir Cosmos sulphureus

LATIN NAME: Cosmos sulphureus

COMMON NAME: Sulfur Cosmos, Yellow Cosmos, Klondike Cosmos

The sulfur cosmos is one of the cheeriest of the summer flowers, and its blaze of golden bloom lights up the garden from midsummer to the first frost. It grows as a fast, bushy annual, reaching up to a metre and a half, with fine, deeply divided, feathery leaves and, through a long season, a constant succession of bright, daisy-like flowers in rich gold, orange and yellow, with yellow centres, borne on long, slender stems, followed by the small, barbed seeds. It is native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America, and it is naturalized in other parts of North and South America, while it is grown around the world as one of the easiest and most generous of the annual flowers.

The sulfur cosmos belongs to the sunflower family, Asteraceae, and it is a species of flowering plant also known as the sulfur cosmos and the yellow cosmos. It is native to Mexico, Central America and northern South America, and it is naturalized in other parts of the Americas, while it is grown for its blaze of golden bloom.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The sulfur cosmos has a genuine and growing place in both horticultural and botanical research. It has been studied in horticulture, since it is one of the easiest and most generous of the annual flowers, prized for its long season of golden bloom and its feathery foliage, and researchers have examined its cultivation, its breeding and its many garden varieties, while the rich range of golds and oranges of the garden cosmos has been of interest in the study of flower colour and of plant breeding. The plant has also been studied in botany, since it is a member of the sunflower family, and researchers have examined its classification and its relationships within the genus Cosmos, while the genus is of interest for its many bright-flowered members. The species has also been studied in ecology, since it is a native of the warm Americas and it has become naturalized in other regions, and its growth and its spread have been examined, while the plant has also been studied for its traditional uses in its native range. For a plant of such golden generosity, the sulfur cosmos has a steady and growing record of research.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

Ecologically, the sulfur cosmos is a generous plant of the summer garden. Its golden flowers feed bees, butterflies and other insects through a long season, and its feathery leaves give cover, while it is a blaze of colour in the beds and the meadows of the warm Americas.

Its economic value is real. It is one of the easiest and most planted of the annual flowers, grown in gardens, in borders and in public plantings around the world, prized for its golden bloom, while its varieties are raised by the nursery trade, and the plant has also had traditional uses in its native range. For a grower, the sulfur cosmos is an easy and generous flower, and for a gardener it brings a blaze of gold from midsummer to the frost. The seeds are among the easiest — sow them directly in a pot of moist soil in spring, keep it in a sunny spot and lightly watered, and the sturdy seedlings appear within a week or two, growing on to flower through the summer and into autumn.