Cuphea oreophila | |
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A Cuphea oreophila bush | |
Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Myrtales |
Family: | Lythraceae |
Genus: | Cuphea |
Species: | C. oreophila
|
Binomial name | |
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 Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, it was first described by TS Brandegee and Rimo Bacigalupi in 1933.
Cuphea oreophila has strongly veined lime-green leaves 50–75 millimetres (2–3 in) long and 25–40 mm (1–1+1⁄2 in) wide and narrow bright red trumpet-shaped flowers 40 or 50 mm (1+1⁄2 or 2 in) long. [1] [2] It grows to a maximum height of 3 m (10 ft) in the wild [1] but usually 1.2 m (4 ft) 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 1,400 and 1,700 m (4,500 and 5,500 ft), [1] and in 1982 was also collected in Guatemala. [3]
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 |
Cuphea oreophila also known as the sacred flower of the Andes is a Lythraceae perennial plant that grows into a small bush. Native to Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, it was first described by TS Brandegee and Rimo Bacigalupi in 1933.
Cuphea oreophila has strongly veined lime-green leaves 50–75 millimetres (2–3 in) long and 25–40 mm (1–1+1⁄2 in) wide and narrow bright red trumpet-shaped flowers 40 or 50 mm (1+1⁄2 or 2 in) long. [1] [2] It grows to a maximum height of 3 m (10 ft) in the wild [1] but usually 1.2 m (4 ft) 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 1,400 and 1,700 m (4,500 and 5,500 ft), [1] and in 1982 was also collected in Guatemala. [3]