Tassel Flower Scarlet Magic Seeds - Emilia coccinea

Emilia coccinea Scarlet Magic is an adorable red-flowering variety of the African wildflower known as Scarlet tasselfower. In summer, its small red thistle-like flowers sway nonchalantly at the top of slender stems. With its light, airy silhouette, it is beautiful planted en masse in borders or summer bedding schemes. This annual will self-seed easily and is perfect for summer floral arrangements. It thrives in full sun and well-drained soil.

Emilia coccinea belongs to the Asteraceae family. It is an herbaceous annual, native to Central and Eastern Africa (Congo, Burundi, Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Angola, Zimbabwe and Mozambique). It occurs naturally on roadsides and disturbed sites. 'Scarlet Magic' forms a bushy clump, made up of a rosette of bluish-green leaves and sessile leaves. It has an erect habit, growing to about 45 to 60 cm in height; the very thin stems are generally pubescent at their base, becoming smooth towards their tip. In summer, flower heads appear at the top of the stems. They are either solitary or grouped in corymbs of 2 to 6. The showy inflorescences look like small, intensely red thistles. They are followed by fruits called achenes, which are hairy seed capsules filled with seeds that germinate easily in poor soils, much like poppies.

Scarlet tasselflowers brighten up borders and flowerbeds, forming remarkable splashes of colour. 'Scarlet Magic' looks fantastic in wild, informal settings alongside catmints, pink Love-in-a-mist, California poppies, blue or purple-coloured cornflowers or ornamental grasses such as Stipa tenuifolia and Mulhenbergia capillaris.