Cosmos sulphureus Cav. (Asteraceae) in the Iberian Peninsula

Cosmos sulphureus (Asteraceae) is an annual herb widely used as an ornamental, here reported as a new addition to non-native flora of the Iberian Peninsula. Individuals escaping from cultivation were recently detected in 2024 on the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Barcelona province, Spain). While citizen-science platforms suggest that the species might be spreading for some years, it was not cited in the Iberian Peninsula in bibliographic or electronic references. The finding of novel records of non-native plants in an extensively sampled area highlights the need for continuous vegetation sampling.