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Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

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Callirhoe involucrata (Winecup)
Smith, R.W.

Callirhoe involucrata

Callirhoe involucrata (Torr. & A. Gray) A. Gray

Winecup, Purple Poppy Mallow

Malvaceae (Mallow Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: CAIN2

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Purple Poppy Mallow’s stems sprawl along the ground up to 3 feet, forming a thick mat up to 1 foot tall. Rounded, hairy leaves are deeply lobed and cleft. The chalice-shaped, 1 1/2-2 1/2 in. wide flowers have a white spot at the base of their five, maroon petals. Flowers, which are borne on long, axillary stalks, close in the evening, open in the morning and remain closed after pollination.

An attractive, spreading, drought-tolerant perennial, Winecup is susceptible to a rust during wet seasons in the Great Plains.

 

From the Image Gallery

50 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Perennial
Habit: Herb
Leaf Retention: Evergreen , Semi-evergreen
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Breeding System: Flowers Bisexual
Fruit Type: Schizocarp
Size Notes: 8-12 inches tall spreading to 3 feet.
Leaf: Gray-Green

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White , Pink , Purple
Bloom Time: Jan , Feb , Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov , Dec

Distribution

USA: AR , AZ , CO , FL , IA , IL , IN , KS , MI , MN , MO , ND , NE , NM , OK , OR , PA , TX , VA , WY
Native Distribution: W. IA to e. WY, s. to LA, TX & n.e. NM
Native Habitat: It is usually found in open woods and on rocky hills in shrublands and thickets.

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Dry , Moist
CaCO3 Tolerance: Medium
Soil Description: Well-drained, rocky or sandy soils. Clay, Clay Loam, Medium Loam, Sandy Loam, Sandy, Gravelly, Calcareous, Acid-based.
Conditions Comments: Winecup has masses of flowers in spring that are predominately solid pink to magenta-colored. The trailing form and strongly lobed foliage are especially nice when planted with contrasting shapes and leaf textures of plants such as Wild Foxglove and Four-nerve Daisy. It can also look nice in a hanging basket or trailing over a wall. An attractive, spreading, drought tolerant perennial which must be in well-drained soil.

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Excellent addition as a bedding plant alone or mixed in a grassy area. May be planted in a hanging basket in which trailing stems cascade over the side. Color, Blooms ornamental, Showy, Wildflower meadow, Easily grown, Long-blooming.
Use Wildlife: Nectar-Bees
Use Medicinal: Burned, crushed dried roots inhaled for head colds. Aching limbs exposed to smoke to reduce pain. Roots boiled, then tea drunk for pains.
Conspicuous Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Attracts: Butterflies
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: Minimal

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA)

Gray Hairstreak
(Strymon melinus)

Larval Host
Learn more at BAMONA

Propagation

Propagation Material: Seeds , Softwood Cuttings
Description: Most easily grown from seed. Seed in the fall, raking into loose topsoil to ensure good seed/soil contact. Winecups like sun and a well-drained site. Flowers the second year. Take tip cuttings as early as February, before buds form. Propagate also by transplanting tuber in fall or winter.
Seed Treatment: Scarification is necessary for good germination.
Commercially Avail: yes
Maintenance: Winecups will often go into dormancy in the summer, but new leaves will emerge after good rains. Its growing season can be prolonged by removing old flowers before they set seed. Winecup is susceptible to a rust during wet seasons. Winecups are green all year, except in late summer. Intermixing with a late summer bloomer such as black-eyed Susan will help provide color during the period when they disappear.

Find Seed or Plants

Order seed of this species from Native American Seed and help support the Wildflower Center.

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

Mr. Smarty Plants says

Ground cover for trails in Northeast Texas
January 09, 2008
I have several acres of wooded land in Northeast Texas, Southern Lamar County. Both sandy and black land. I have created trails through the woods and would like to plant a native ground cover or gras...
view the full question and answer

Reason for small winecup flowers (Callirhoe sp.)
May 25, 2007
I purchased some winecup seeds from a wildflower seed company and planted them this past autumn. I live in the northcentral Texas area. This spring, several of the seeds sprouted but they had tiny lav...
view the full question and answer

List of native perennial Texas flowers
March 13, 2006
Good day, I am searching for a list of native Texas flowers (preferably perennials) for a flower garden. Thank you.
view the full question and answer

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:

Fredericksburg Nature Center - Fredericksburg, TX
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Texas Discovery Gardens - Dallas, TX
Sibley Nature Center - Midland, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
NPSOT - Native Plant Society of Texas - Fredericksburg, TX
Stengl Biological Research Station - Smithville, TX
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Austin, TX
NPSOT - Fredericksburg Chapter - Fredericksburg, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR
Jacob's Well Natural Area - Wimberley, TX
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX

Herbarium Specimen(s)

NPSOT 1027 Collected May 3, 1995 in Bexar County by Mike Fox

1 specimen(s) available in the Digital Herbarium

Bibliography

Bibref 417 - Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (2000) Foster, S. & J. A. Duke
Bibref 1186 - Field Guide to Moths of Eastern North America (2005) Covell, C.V., Jr.
Bibref 1185 - Field Guide to Western Butterflies (Peterson Field Guides) (1999) Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright
Bibref 946 - Gardening with Prairie Plants: How to Create Beautiful Native Landscapes (2002) Wasowski, Sally
Bibref 355 - Landscaping with Native Plants of Texas and the Southwest (1991) Miller, G. O.
Bibref 765 - McMillen's Texas Gardening: Wildflowers (1998) Howard, D.
Bibref 318 - Native Texas Plants: Landscaping Region by Region (2002) Wasowski, S. & A. Wasowski
Bibref 281 - Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas (1999) Diggs, G. M.; B. L. Lipscomb; B. O'Kennon; W. F...
Bibref 291 - Texas Wildscapes: Gardening for Wildlife (1999) Damude, N. & K.C. Bender
Bibref 1294 - The Midwestern Native Garden: Native Alternatives to Nonnative Flowers and Plants An Illustrated Guide (2011) Adelman, Charlotte and Schwartz, Bernard L.
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.
Bibref 286 - Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.

Search More Titles in Bibliography

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

From the Archive

Wildflower Newsletter 1996 VOL. 13, NO.2 - Annual Wildflower Days Festival, Wildflower Center Hotline, The Visitor Experien...

Additional resources

USDA: Find Callirhoe involucrata in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Callirhoe involucrata in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Callirhoe involucrata

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-04-13
Research By: BJG, ADA

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