Cuphea micropetala H.B. & K
Frost tender, branched sub-shrub with crowded lance-shaped leaves, to 12cm long, and leafy racemes bearing scarlet, white and red flowers, yellowish at the apex, with minute petals in summer. To 90cm. [RHSD, Hortus].
Horticultural & Botanical History
Cuphea micropetala was introduced to Britain in 1824. [JD]. Don. ‘Certainly the finest of all the known species of the numerous genus of Cuphea, with singularly large coloured calyces, for there are no petals; now well known in our gardens as a hardy green-house plant, and thriving in the summer in the open border, under the name of C. eminens, by which appellation it was sent from the extensive horticultural establishment of Mr. Linden; but it is assuredly the C. Jorullensis - a much older name – of Humboldt, native of Mexico (first detected, as its name implies, on the volcanic mountain of Jorullo).’ [BM t.5232/1861]. IH pl.284/1861.
History at Camden Park
Listed only in the 1857 catalogue [T.358/1857].
Notes
Published Mar 11, 2009 - 04:27 PM | Last updated Mar 05, 2010 - 01:37 PM
Cuphea micropetala H.B. & K | BM t.5232/1861 | BHL
| Family | Lythraceae |
|---|---|
| Category | |
| Region of origin | Mexico |
| Synonyms |
|
| Common Name | |
| Name in the Camden Park Record | Cuphea tricolor |
| Confidence level | high |