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Lythraceae FAMILY

Cuphea hyssopifolia

Cuphea hyssopifolia

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Species in this genus generally prefer a position in full sun, but are tolerant of partial shade. They generally grow best in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils[1]. Often grown as an ornamental, the plant has sometimes escaped from cultivation and become naturalized. It is considered to be invasive in some countries such as New Zealand and Hawaii The seed of Cuphea species is generally a good source of medium length fatty acids, which have a range of industrial and cosmetic applications and can also be used in foods[2]. Several species are being trialled as seed oil crops in temperate zone countries, though they are unlikely to become a commercial crop in the tropics simply because it is so much easier to grow oil crops such as palm oil (Elaeis species) and coconut (Cocos nucifera). This is one of several Central American plants whose habitat is almost wholly confined to large rocks along the edges of usually swift streams. These rocks project above the mean level of the stream, but during times of heavy rain the plants often are covered by rushing water. Most of these plants, obviously, have tough stems that are able to withstand the debris carried by the often rapid currents of water[3].

Propagation

Seed - can be sown in situ[4]. Germination usually takes a few weeks because of the hard seed coat. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Cuphea+hyssopifolia>

Pollinators

Insects, Humming birds

References

  1. [1]KemperCentreForHomeGardeningPlantFinder — Missouri Botanical Garden · http://www.mobot.org/gardeninghelp/plantfinder/ ↩︎Basic cultivation details, plant uses, habitat etc for several thousand species of plants, mainly from the temperate zone.
  2. [2]The National Non-Food Crops Centre Crop Database — http://www.nnfcc.co.uk/crops/pd.cfm ↩︎An excellent on-line information source, with information on over 100 species (as of 2006) of plants being investigated as bio-crops.
  3. [3]Flora of Guatemala — Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark · 1946 - 1976 · http://www.archive.org/ ↩︎A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/
  4. [4]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  5. [5]Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk — http://www.hear.org/pier/scientificnames/index.html ↩︎A very good website detailing weed species that have been introduced into the Pacific Islands.
  6. [6]A comprehensive review of Cuphea (Lythraceae) — Mohamed R Elgindi; Nahla Ayoub; Rola Milad and Reham Hassan · 2011 · ISBN 0975-8585 ↩︎Gives information on the traditional medicinal uses of various cuphea species, and also a review of modern research and the compounds the plants contain.
  7. [7]Antioxidant and Cytotoxic Activities of Cuphea hyssopifolia Kunth (Lythraceae) Cultivated in Egypt — Mohamed Elgindi; Nahla Ayoub; Rola Milad; Reham Mekky · 2012 · http://www.phytojournal.com · ISBN 2278- 4136 ↩︎