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Cuphea hyssopifolia
Also called Mexican Heather
In Singapore: False Heather, Hawaiian Heather, Elfin Herb, Elfin Plant, Cuphea, Clammy Cuphea, Corail, Tarweed, Mexican Heather, Heather, 细叶雪茄花, 满天星 (Grown in Singapore)
Cuphea hyssopifolia is a small evergreen subshrub from Mexico and Central America, grown for its fine dark green foliage and small purple, lavender or white flowers. It needs warmth and well-drained soil; it is not frost tolerant and is often grown as an annual in cold climates.
Cuphea hyssopifolia, the false heather, Mexican heather, Hawaiian heather or elfin herb, is a small evergreen shrub native to Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras.
In cultivation, the species adapts to a range of soils in a sunny or partially shaded situation with good drainage. It can be cultivated outdoors in USDA hardiness zones 8B-11, but does not tolerate freezing temperatures. In colder regions it may be cultivated as an annual. Plants may be propagated by cuttings, layering or division. They seed freely, and new seedlings that appear are easily transplanted.
This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2020).
It is present in hot, semi-warm and temperate climates between 500 and 2,240 meters (1,640 and 7,350 ft) above sea level. An ornamental plant grown in orchards and gardens, it grows on the banks of streams, associated with disturbed vegetation of tropical deciduous and sub-deciduous forests, as well as mountain mesophilic forest.
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cuphea hyssopifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
