Chamissoa altissimaKunth

false chaff flower

WFO wfo-0000599765 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Gonzalo Martinez
fig. a Gonzalo Martinez, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-24 / obs. 166434760
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Hugo Hulsberg
fig. b Hugo Hulsberg, CC0 1.0 / obs. 177080668
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Hugo Hulsberg
fig. c Hugo Hulsberg, CC0 1.0 / obs. 177139684
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Ramon and Suzanne Vargas
fig. d Ramon and Suzanne Vargas, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 140284255
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by William G. Borges
fig. e William G. Borges, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 138229381
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. f Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 111858730
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. g Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 111857059
Chamissoa altissima, photographed by Alexis López Hernández
fig. h Alexis López Hernández, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 66887591

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 37 botanical countries

Regions where Chamissoa altissima is native: Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Windward Is. Mexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoUruguayVenezuela Leeward Is.Windward Is.
Native distribution of Chamissoa altissima, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Belize BLZ
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Windward Is. WIN
Mexico Central MXC NORTHERN AMERICA
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 21 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Achyranthes altissima Jacq.
  • Achyranthes baccata Pav. ex Moq.
  • Celosia major Griseb.
  • Celosia sparsa Forsyth ex Moq.
  • Celosia tomentosa Willd.
  • Chamissoa altissima f. brevistyla Seub.
  • Chamissoa altissima f. longistyla Seub.
  • Chamissoa altissima f. semispicata Suess.
  • Chamissoa altissima subsp. albogrisea Suess.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. altissima
  • Chamissoa altissima var. brevistyla Seub.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. densiflora Moq.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. densipaniculata Suess.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. glabrata Seub.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. grandispicata Suess.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. laxiflora Moq.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. longistyla Seub.
  • Chamissoa altissima var. rubella Suess.
  • Chamissoa frondosa Hashim.
  • Chamissoa macrocarpa Kunth
  • Kokera paniculata Kuntze

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.