Cuphea oreophila
Cuphea oreophila also known as the sacred flower of the Andes is a Lythraceae perennial plant that grows into a small bush. Native to the Mexican state of Chiapas and to Guatemala, it was first described by TS Brandegee and Rimo Carlo Felice Bacigalupi in 1933.
| Cuphea oreophila | |
|---|---|
 | |
| A Cuphea oreophila bush | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Lythraceae |
| Genus: | Cuphea |
| Species: | C. oreophila |
| Binomial name | |
| Cuphea oreophila Brandegee ex Bacig. | |
Description
Cuphea oreophila has strongly veined lime-green leaves 2–3 inches (5.1–7.6 cm) long and 1–1.5 inches (2.5–3.8 cm) wide and narrow bright red trumpet-shaped flowers 1.5 inches (3.8 cm)[1] or 2 inches (5.1 cm)[2] long. It grows to a maximum height of 10 feet (3.0 m) in the wild[1] but usually 4 feet (1.2 m) tall and wide in cultivation.[1][2] It has unusually large leaflike appendages.[3]
The species is native to montane forests in Chiapas near its border with Oaxaca, at elevations of between 4,500 feet (1,400 m) and 5,500 feet (1,700 m),[1] and in 1982 was also collected in Guatemala.[3]
References
- Martin Grantham, "Cupheas at Strybing Arboretum", Pacific Horticulture, October 2002.
- Cuphea orophila, Annie's Annuals and Perennials, retrieved 2019-01-01.
- Shirley A. Graham, "New Species of Cuphea Section Melvilla (Lythraceae) and an Annotated Key to the Section", Brittonia 42.1 (January–March 1990) 12-32, p. 26.