Flamingo feather flower (Celosia spicata)

Kelo paku or spike celosia or flamingo feather flower (Celosia spicata) is a plant species in Amaranthaceae, a shrub with stems standing upright, maroon or green, requires full sunlight, can be eaten and is widely used as an ornamental plant by a typical upright flower shape such as a pile of wheat.

C. spicata has a strong trunk with many branches from the lowest base to the top to form a dense plant, but is open and conical upward to a height of up to 1.5 m, maroon or green and the surface has a vertical groove.

The leaves have a length of 5-15 cm, the base and tip are pointed, oval or spear shaped and strong veined, a main bone is linear and straight with several minor bones to the side and curved, the edges are slightly wavy, the upper surface is maroon or green and the part the bottom surface is shiny.

Abundant flowers that grow at the tip of branches above the leaves, sturdy, cylindrical in an upright shape, 2-15 cm long which depend on cultivars, the upper end is pointed, white on the bottom and maroon on the top or one of them and often develops silver luster.

Flowers are visited by bees, wasps, butterflies and hummingbirds. Flamingo feather flowers produce small, shiny black seeds with pink to white or cream that remain attractive even after the flowers have disappeared and are often used as fresh or dried cut flowers.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Subfamily: Amaranthoideae
Genus: Celosia
Species: Celosia spicata

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