Poppy mallow
Encyclopedia
Callirhoe is a genus
of flowering plant
s in the mallow
family, Malvaceae
. Its nine species are commonly known as poppy mallows and all are native to the prairie
s and grassland
s of North America
. Of the nine, some are annuals
while others are perennial plant
s.
The genus is named for the Oceanid
Callirrhoe
in Greek mythology
.
Poppy mallow leaves
are alternate and palmately lobed. The flower
s are cup-shaped and brightly colored.
The plants prefer a hot and dry situation, and a well-drained sandy soil.
Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) is a low-growing perennial with a large taproot
and hairy stems. Flower petals range from cerise
to red
dish violet
with a white base. It grows to 30 cm high and spreads 60–70 cm wide. It is widely recommended to garden
ers in the Western United States
as a plant that is showy without being water-hungry.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the mallow
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of...
family, Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
. Its nine species are commonly known as poppy mallows and all are native to the prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
s and grassland
Grassland
Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous plants . However, sedge and rush families can also be found. Grasslands occur naturally on all continents except Antarctica...
s of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. Of the nine, some are annuals
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
while others are perennial plant
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
s.
The genus is named for the Oceanid
Oceanid
In Greek mythology and, later, Roman mythology, the Oceanids were the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Each was the patroness of a particular spring, river, sea, lake, pond, pasture, flower or cloud...
Callirrhoe
Callirrhoe (naiad)
In Greek mythology, Callirrhoe was a naiad. She was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. She had three husbands, Chrysaor, Neilus and Poseidon. She was one of the three ancestors of the Tyrians, along with Abarbarea and Drosera...
in Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
.
Poppy mallow leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are alternate and palmately lobed. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are cup-shaped and brightly colored.
The plants prefer a hot and dry situation, and a well-drained sandy soil.
Purple Poppy Mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) is a low-growing perennial with a large taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
and hairy stems. Flower petals range from cerise
Cerise (color)
-Etymology:According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of cerise as a color name in English was in The Times of November 30, 1858. However, it was used at least as early as 1845 in a book of crochet patterns....
to red
Red
Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...
dish violet
Violet (color)
As the name of a color, violet is synonymous with a bluish purple, when the word "purple" is used in the common English language sense of any color between blue and red, not including either blue or red...
with a white base. It grows to 30 cm high and spreads 60–70 cm wide. It is widely recommended to garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
ers in the Western United States
Western United States
.The Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
as a plant that is showy without being water-hungry.
Species
- Callirhoe alcaeoides (Michx.) A.Gray – Pale Poppy Mallow
- Callirhoe bushii Fernald – Bush's Poppy Mallow
- Callirhoe digitata Nutt. – Fringed Poppy Mallow, Winecup
- Callirhoe involucrata (Torr. & A.Gray) A.Gray – Purple Poppy Mallow, Winecup
- Callirhoe leiocarpa R.F.Martin – Tall Poppy Mallow
- Callirhoe papaver (Cav.) A.Gray – Woodland Poppy Mallow
- Callirhoe pedata (Nutt. ex Hook.) A.Gray – Palmleaf Poppy Mallow
- Callirhoe scabriusculaCallirhoe scabriusculaCallirhoe scabriuscula is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name Texas poppy mallow. It is endemic to Texas, where it is known from about ten populations in the deep sands alongside the Colorado River...
B.L.Rob. – Texas Poppy Mallow - Callirhoe triangulata (Leavenw.) A.Gray – Clustered Poppy Mallow
Formerly placed here
- Sidalcea oregana spicataSidalcea oreganaSidalcea oregana is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name Oregon checkerbloom. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Utah, where it grows in a number of moist habitat types, such as marshes and meadows...
(Regel) C.L.Hitchc. (as C. spicata Regel)