Cuphea hyssopifolia

Cuphea hyssopifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Cuphea
Species: C. hyssopifolia
Binomial name
Cuphea hyssopifolia
Kunth

Cuphea hyssopifolia (false heather, Mexican heather, Hawaiian heather or elfin herb) is a small evergreen shrub native to Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.[1][2] It grows to about 60 cm (24 in) high by 90 cm (35 in) wide and has purple, lavender or white coloured flowers and fine foliage.[3]

The Latin word hyssopifolia (which also occurs in several other plant names, including that of bassia hyssopifolia) means "hyssop-leafed".[4]

The species is naturalised in Hawaii, and regarded as a serious weed there.[3]

In cultivation, the species adapts to a range of soils in a sunny or partially shaded situation with good drainage.[3] It can be cultivated outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 8B-11.[3] In colder regions it may be cultivated as an annual.[3] Plants may be propagated by cuttings, layering or division. They seed freely, and new seedlings that appear are easily transplanted.[3]

This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5]

References

Cupheas produce numerous, small flowers
  1. ↑ Tenenbaum, Frances (2003). Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Houghton Miiflin Co. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-618-22644-3.
  2. ↑ "Taxon: Cuphea hyssopifolia Kunth". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville Area. Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Harrison, Marie (2006). Groundcovers for the South. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-1-56164-347-9.
  4. ↑ James Donn, Hortus Cantabrigiensis: or, a Catalogue of Plants, Indigenous and Exotic (1809), p. 5
  5. ↑ "Cuphea hyssopifolia". Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 22 July 2013.
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