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Lythraceae FAMILY

Cuphea viscosissima

Cuphea viscosissima

Edibility
2/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitAnnual
Growth—

Cuphea viscosissima is the hardiest member of a mainly tropical genus. It can be grown outdoors in much of the temperate zone, restricted mainly by its need for a hot summer in order to produce a good crop of seed. Succeeds in any reasonably fertile soil in full sun or part shade[1, 2]. Tolerant of dry conditions[2]. 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. This species is self-fertile[3]. 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. Germination is slowed by the thick seed hull. The first seed is produced six weeks after sowing in the greenhouse. In regions where the plant is winter hardy, it will often self-sow in gardens[2]. The stems, leaves and flowers are covered with sticky hairs giving rise to one of the common name s for this plant of 'clammy cuphea'.

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+viscosissima>

Pollinators

Butterflies, Humming birds

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]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.
  3. [3]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
  4. [4]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.
  5. [5]Gray's Manual of Botany.Eighth Edition — Fernald. M. L. · American Book Co.; New York · 1950 · ISBN 0442222505 ↩︎A bit dated but a good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.
  6. [6]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.
  7. [7]Homeopathic Materia Medica — William Boericke, M.D. · http://www.homeoint.org/books/boericmm/index.htm ↩︎An on-line version of the book