Flowers of Bali

Balinese name: Ratna
Indonesian name: Bunga kancing
Latin name: Gomphrena globosa L.
Family: Amaranthaceae

The plant is native to the drier parts of America. In Bali, Globe Amaranth is widely used for yard and street decoration and is commonly used in offerings and ti decorate holy flags for religious ceremonies. The plant bloom for about three months, a characteristic that has inspired a sometimes heard Indonesian name, bunga tiga bulan ”three month flower.”

Description
A small shrubby annual herb with flowers in small magenta spheres that look like clover blossoms and are 1 to 3 cm across.

Flowers
Each spherical flower group consists of dozens of tiny, individual flowers arranged in a tight spiral. The flowers them selves are each enclosed by two papery, magenta petals, about 1 cm long.

These have white edges near the base, so that the lower part of the flower head looks whiter than the top. Within the petals is a small mass of white, fuzzy fibers ringed by 5 ribbon like stamens. In the center of the mature flower is a white 7 mm pistil topped by a compound yellow stigma.

Leaves
Fuzzy, medium green, about 6 cm long.

Seeds
Small, black and produced in abudance.