cosmos bipinnatus

Cosmos bipinnatus, commonly just called cosmos, is native to Mexico. It is a popular, low-maintenance, late-blooming, showy annual that typically grows 2-4’ tall on erect stems clad with pinnatisect, medium green leaves that are deeply cut into threadlike segments. Single, saucer-shaped, daisy-like flowers (to 2-4” diameter) with red, pink or white rays and yellow centers bloom freely from early summer to frost. In hot and humid summer climates, plants may slow down considerably in late summer. Plants have escaped gardens and naturalized, particularly along roadsides, fields and waste areas, in many parts of the U. S. Cultivars feature single, semi-double or double flowers in a larger variety of colors including white and bicolor on plants ranging in height from dwarf to tall.

Genus name comes from the Greek word kosmos meaning beautiful.

Specific epithet refers to the plants bipinnate leaves.