Keyed Out #052 — Cosmos atrosanguineus

Question 1

What looks like one flower is a tightly packed head of many small separate flowers, seated on a common {receptacle} and cupped from below by a collar of green {bracts}.

Accepted Answer

daisy family

Question 2

In each fertile flower the five {anther} sacs are joined edge to edge into a hollow tube, and the {style} pushes up through it, brushing the pollen out ahead of itself.

Accepted Answer

Asteraceae

Question 3

Each ripe seed is a long slender rod, a quarter to one and a quarter inches (7 to 30 mm) long, tapering at the tip into a distinct beak rather than ending bluntly.

Accepted Answer

Cosmos

Question 4

Its leaves are set in opposite pairs and each blade is cut right back to the midrib into narrow separate segments, giving the plant a ferny look.

Accepted Answer

Cosmos

Question 5

It comes back each year from a cluster of fat fleshy roots below ground, rather than dying out entirely and relying on scattered seed.

Accepted Answer

Cosmos atrosanguineus

Question 6

The outer strap-shaped petals are a deep velvety maroon dark enough to read as black in shade, not a clear pink, white or purple.

Accepted Answer

Cosmos atrosanguineus