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Lythraceae FAMILY

Cuphea micropetala

Cuphea micropetala

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Cuphea micropetala is a plant of the tropical regions of central N. America, but is said to be suitable for cultivation as an annual in parts of the temperate zone. Continental areas with hot summers, and Mediterranean regions have been specifically mentioned, the most important factors are the length of the growing season and the amount of summer heat required to ripen the crop. Prefers a position in full sun, but tolerant of light shade. Succeeds in any reasonable, fertile soil[1]. Cuphea has only been investigated as a potential commercial crop for a few years, and still has the characteristics of a wild plant. Those characteristics that differ from cultivated plants are its propensity to seed shatter, its indeterminate flowering nature, and its overall stickiness. If these wild traits can be overcome, Cuphea's chemistry, coupled with the annual and therefore renewable nature of the plant, certainly can make it a new crop[2]. Germination in central European climate is slow (14 - 20 days) even in late May after the last frosts, but this is made up for by quick growth and early seed ripening[2]. Germination is slowed by the thick seed hull. The first seed is produced six weeks after sowing in the greenhouse[2].

Propagation

Seed - can be sown in situ after the last expected frosts[1]. In order to obtain larger plants, extend the growing season and hopefully achieve larger yields of seeds, the seeds can be sown in a greenhouse in early spring at around 21°c. Germination usually takes a few weeks because of the hard seed coat. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and plant out after the last expected frosts[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Cuphea+micropetala>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

  1. [1]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.
  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]Flowers of India — http://www.flowersofindia.net/ ↩︎A wed site of native Indian plants, plus cultivated and naturalized species. It has good quality photos and terse details on more than 3,000 species and cultivars.
  4. [4]Advances in New Crops. Proceedings of the First National Symposium NEW CROPS: Research, Development, Economics — Jules Janick and J.E.Simon (eds.) · Timber Press, Portland, Oregon · 1990 · ISBN 0-88192-166-1 ↩︎This book is the proceedings of the First National Symposium on New Crops held October 23-26, 1988 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The contents include papers from invited speakers, papers derived from posters, and abstracts from poster presentations
  5. [5]Mansfeld's Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Plants — http://mansfeld.ipk-gatersleben.de/pls/htmldb_pgrc/f?p=185:3:4292127278597336 ↩︎Terse details of a huge range of useful plants.