The last of the introduced plants in the original Cedar Point Butterfly Garden has been replaced. Turk's Cap, Malvaviscus arboreu, is a beautiful tall bush, closely related to the hibiscus. It has been called a bird and butterfly magnet. Unfortunately, it is native to a region stretching from Mexico through Central America to Columbia not to Florida. Lois Cantwell and Al Petersen removed the bushes. Not to fear, they were taken home by Cedar Point volunteers.
To replace them we chose our native Firebush, Hamelia patens. Like Turk's Cap, this plant grows quite full and tall and is loved by birds and butterflies. Firebush grows fast and can get up to 15 ft tall.
Throughout the year, Firebush produces showy terminal clusters of bright reddish-orange or scarlet tubular flowers; these yield berries with many small seeds, ripening from green to yellow to red and finally to black. A Firebush plant usually has flowers and fruit in various stages. The leaves are softly hairy and often have red splotches on them; this is the characteristic easily used to distinguish them from Hamelia patens var. glabra, a non-native Firebush, often sold in commercial nurseries. The non-native has smooth leaves and its flowers are much more strongly yellow colored. The non-native Firebush can also grow to 20-25 feet tall!
In Florida, Firebush is native to central and southern Florida (from Marion County southward). It grows on shell mounds, in hammocks, coastal dunes and in open, disturbed sites. No vouchered plants are listed for Sarasota or Charlotte counties but the surrounding counties are represented.
Denny Girard provided the Turk's Caps for the original planting and the 2 replacement Firebush (and took the pictures of the planting). Thank you, Denny.
| Lois Cantwell and Al Petersen removing the Turk Cap. | New Firebush plants going in. |
Picture of Firebush, Hamelia patens taken by Jack Scheper © 2003 Floridata. All other photos by Denny Girard.
References:
Floridata, Hamelia patens http://www.floridata.com/ref/h/hame_pat.cfm
Floridata, Malvaviscus arboreuc http://www.floridata.com/ref/m/malv_pen.cfm
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants, Hamelia patens http://www.florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=2723
Know the Difference: Native & Non-Native Firebush http://www.afnn.org/upload/pdf_forms/article4firebush.pdf