Cuphea

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Cuphea
Cuphea cyanea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Myrtales Family: Lythraceae Genus: Cuphea P. Browne
Species
See text.

Cuphea is a genus of about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbs to semi-woody shrubs up to 2 m tall.

C. ignea 'David Verity' and C. micropetalia are favorite hummingbird plants.

Some species of Cuphea are used to produce cuphea oil, of interest as sources of medium-chain triglycerides. Early attempts at commercial production have focused on an interspecific hybrid population derived from C. lanceolata and C. viscosissima.

Botanist Shirley A. Graham, currently of the Missouri Botanical Garden, has published widely on the genus. Among Graham's Cuphea contributions are two volumes in the series Systematic Botany Monographs.

Selected species

• Cuphea carthagenensis
• Cuphea cyanea
• Cuphea epilobiifolia
• Cuphea hookeriana
• Cuphea hyssopifolia ("Mexican False Heather")
• Cuphea ignea ("Cigar Plant")
• Cuphea jorullensis
• Cuphea koehneana
• Cuphea laminuligera
• Cuphea lanceolata
• Cuphea llavea ("Bat-faced Cuphea")
• Cuphea lutea
• Cuphea micropetala ("Cigar Plant")
• Cuphea painteri
• Cuphea procumbens
• Cuphea stigulosa
• Cuphea viscosissima
• Cuphea wrightii