Cuphea hyssopifolia

Cuphea hyssopifolia, the 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]

Cuphea hyssopifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Lythraceae
Genus: Cuphea
Species:
C. hyssopifolia
Binomial name
Cuphea hyssopifolia

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] (confirmed 2017).[6]

References
  1. Tenenbaum, Frances (2003). Taylor's Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Houghton Miiflin Co. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-618-22644-3.
  2. "Cuphea hyssopifolia". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 24 July 2011.
  3. 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 17 April 2020.
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 26. Retrieved 24 January 2018.


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