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About Cuphea Bat Face (Cuphea)

Cuphea Ilavea Bat Face - Plants can grow up to 2½ feet tall, but when grown as seasonal annuals generally only become 12-18 inches tall with an equal spread. They have a rounded, bushy habit and the foliage remains fresh all season if watered sufficiently. The stems are crowded with alternate dark green, thick, sandpapery leaves up to 3” long. Bat-faced cuphea begins blooming in late spring and continues until frost, producing clusters of numerous flowers in the leaf axils. Each flower has a one inch long, hairy purple calyx with two upward facing red petals at the end, forming the “ears” to go with the “bat face”.  The remaining four petals are just little spiny remnants in the species but in some cultivars these are fully developed. Flowers are attractive to hummingbirds, bees and butterflies. The small, brown lentil-shaped seeds are found at the base of spent flowers that remain on the plant. Family: Lythraceae