Celosia cristata (cockscomb, "Keito")

Japanese name: ケイトウ （鶏頭）
Scientific name: Celosia cristata

[Overview]
An annual.
The stem is erect and thick.
The leaves are simple and alternate, ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 5–20 cm long, with petioles.
Inflorescences are borne in the upper leaf axils and at the stem tips.
There are strains whose inflorescences become petrified (fasciated) and strains whose inflorescences become feathery; judging from the form of the developed inflorescence, they are divided mainly into the following strains.
Tosaka-keito: the inflorescence is flattened and fasciated.
Kurume-keito: the inflorescence is fasciated into a globe.
It was developed from plants that Otsuki Tomekichi of Yame, Fukuoka brought back from India just before the end of the war.
Umo-keito: also called Fusage-keito.
The inflorescence is soft and feathery.
Yari-keito: also called Tama-keito and Suginari-keito.
The inflorescence becomes globe-shaped to conical.
The Japanese name Suginari-keito is written with characters meaning "cedar-shaped cockscomb", comparing the inflorescence to the shape of a cedar tree.
However, Yari-keito also includes plants whose inflorescences are globe-shaped, so the form of the inflorescence is not fixed.
All have large inflorescences and a rich range of flower colors, such as yellow, orange, red, pink and white.

[History]
The place of origin is said to be the tropics of Asia and Africa, and it came to Japan from China in the Nara period.

[Uses]
In Africa and Southeast Asia it is used as food and medicine.

[Cultivation]
Propagate from seed.
It has a taproot and dislikes transplanting, so sow directly where it will grow, or, if replanting, take care not to break up the root ball.
The optimum temperature for germination is 20 degrees or higher, so sow after the temperature has risen sufficiently.
The seeds are light-sensitive in the sense that they germinate in the dark, so cover them with soil and, until germination, shade them by covering with newspaper or similar.
As long as the site is sunny and well drained, it is not very particular about soil.
In fertile soil only the leaves grow lushly, so poorer soil is more suitable.
In poor light, the flower color is poor.
In summer, if it runs short of water its growth declines, so water thoroughly when the soil surface dries.
Fertilizer is not particularly needed.
Pests and diseases include damping-off, gray mold, aphids, cutworms and spider mites.
Damping-off and gray mold occur more easily if the site lacks sun or drainage.
Spider mites infest it when dry weather continues.
It suffers from continuous cropping problems, so it is better to change the planting site every few years.

[Notes]
It is a taxonomic group of cultivated origin derived from Noge-ito, a tropical annual that has also become naturalized in the warm regions of Japan, and some authorities distinguish it as an independent species.

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