Callirhoe involucrata

Common Name: purple poppy mallow
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Malvaceae
Native Range: Central United States
Zone: 4 to 8
Height: 0.50 to 1.00 feet
Spread: 0.50 to 3.00 feet
Bloom Time: May to June
Bloom Colour: Magenta
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Tolerates: Drought, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil

Easily grown in dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Grows well from seed and may self-seed in the garden in optimum growing conditions. Long tap root gives plant good drought tolerance but makes transplanting of established plants difficult.

Callirhoe involucrata, commonly called purple poppy mallow, is a mat-forming, Missouri native perennial which most frequently occurs in dryish, rocky soils in prairies, fields and along roadsides scattered in several counties mostly northeast of the Missouri River. Plants typically form a low foliage mound from 6-9" tall on procumbent stems which spread along the ground to 3' wide. Solitary, upward facing, cup-shaped, five-petaled, poppy-like, magenta flowers (to 2.5" wide) continuously appear on thin stems above the foliage from mid-spring to fall. Stamens form a prominent central column typical of mallow family members, but with distinctive style branches. Leaves are palmately divided into 5-7 finger-like lobes. The closely-related Missouri native fringed poppy mallow (Callirhoe digitata) is, by contrast, a spindly, erect plant which typically grows 2-3' tall.

Genus name honors the daughter of a minor Greek deity, Achelous, a river god.

Specific epithet means with an involucre, a ring of bracts surrounding several flowers.

Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Crown rot may occur in poorly drained soils.

Garden Uses

Good native ground cover. Border fronts, rock gardens, native plant gardens, wild gardens, naturalized areas or meadows. Sprawl over a stone wall. Fits well into both formal garden areas as well as wild/naturalized areas.