Features of C. speciosus | ||
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Plant type | Herbaceous, perennial, seed propagated, and vegetatively propagated | |
Height of the plant | In frost-free areas | Up to 3.1 m |
In cooler regions | About 1.8 m | |
Stem | Stem sub woody at the base | |
No characteristic taste and odor | ||
Leaves | Number of leaves | Usually 15–20 |
Color of leaves | Dark green | |
Arrangement | Alternate and Spiral arrangement | |
Length | 5.7–7.5 cm | |
Shape | Sessile or sub-sessile | |
Leaf blade | Oblong or lanceolate | |
Dorsal surface texture | Silky instances | |
Ventral surface texture | Silky and pubescent | |
Petiole | 5–7 mm | |
Leaf sheath | Coriaceous (leathery texture) | |
Ligule | Absent | |
Taste and odor | No characteristic taste and odor | |
Inflorescence | Type of inflorescence | Spike (dense spike) 5- 12.5 by 3.8- 7.5 cm |
Flower color | Large, white, and clustered in terminal globose heads | |
Bracts | 2–3.2 cm long, ovate, acuminate, often pungently mucronate, large, bright red, or shiny brown in color | |
Bracteole | Pale red, Solitary below the calyx, and 1.6 mm long | |
Calyx | Red, 3.2 cm long, lobes 6 mm long, and deltoid-ovate cuspidate | |
Corolla | Corolla tube as long as the calyx; lobes ovate-oblong, apiculate, the lateral lobes 3.5 by 1.3 cm, and the dorsal 4 by 2 cm | |
Taste and odor | Characteristic taste and odor | |
Labellum | White, trumpet-shaped, toothed, and crisped apex, overlapping edges | |
Stamen | Crest yellow stamens, petaloid, and globose single stamen, the style running between the two halves of the large anther | |
Fruit | Globosely trigonous red-colored capsule | |
Seeds | Black and glossy approximately 3 mm black, five in number with a white fleshy aril |