Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Shrubs ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus), Malvaceae Family, naturalized, perennial, evergreen in areas with no freezes (dies to ground and returns in spring in colder zones), blooms mid-summer through fall

County distribution;
http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Texas&statefip...

Turk's Cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) is a spreading shrub that grows to about 2 to 3 m high and 2 to 3 m wide (average size 8 feet by 8 feet). It often spreads by layering. The stems and leaves are densely covered with stellate hairs. The ovate to suborbicular leaves are shallowly 3-lobed or not lobed and have crenate-serrate margins. The 20 to 35 mm long flower petals are scarlet. The red fleshy fruit are about 1 to 3 cm in diameter. It can be propagated by layering, cuttings, root division and seed. Malvaviscus arboreus is a great plant for a hummingbird garden. It is not suitable for a small garden because it tends to ramble. There are dwarf cultivars of this plant. The young leaves, flowers and fruit are edible.

For more information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/114737/

Blooms ... Photo (cropped by htop) courtesy of Forest and Kim Starr.