Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures by color ( Red ), 1 by LindaTX8

LindaTX8 wrote:
I wanted to put more on Turk's Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus var. Drummondii, a Texas native. I'm putting a photo below of my "mother plant", as I call it. I bought it from a nursery (my first Turk's Cap). Now it has many offspring, but the mother plant is the biggest. I can't even get the whole thing into one picture. I've been in awe of this wonderful plant from the first season it bloomed. From Trees, Shrubs and Vines of the Texas Hill Country:
"A big, large-leaved perennial, woody only near its base, with bright red blossoms much of the summer and fall; prefers moist, shady sites near streams and springs. Along with many beautiful wildflowers, such as winecup and rose mallow, Turk's cap is in the mallow family. Though somewhat invasive, it is a good shade-tolerant ornamental that can be pruned every other year to control its spread. Turks cap is readily propagated from seed or green cuttings. The leaves can be made into a poultice for use as a soothing emolient, and its flowers are used medicinally in Mexico to promote menstrual flow. The blossoms are an important nectar source for butterflies and the ruby-throated hummingbird on its fall migration from the northeastern United States through Texas and into Mexico. The small, mealy red fruit is edible either coooked or raw and is food for many birds and mammals."
Obviously, I don't prune my mother plant back much. I just can't bear to lose many blooms. I've watched as butterflies nectar from it. They seem to insert their proboscis through the petals that are curled around each other, so I assume the nectar is inside there somewhere. BTW, the bloom is edible also.