Hibiscus – Turk’s Cap

Q: I have a plant growing in my yard that came from a friend’s father’s house in Eufala , AL .

His dad calls it “Bleeding Heart” but it looks nothing like the Bleeding Heart my mother grew in her yard in western Pennsylvania.

In late fall it put out what appear to be seed pods, some red, some white. The plant itself grows to be about 3 feet tall. It’s a mystery to me.

A: I put my team of ace plant identifiers onto the case. Daryl Pulis says it looks like Turk’s Cap hibiscus, Malvaviscus drummondii.

See Sleepy Hibiscus, Mexican Turk’s Cap.


Shannon Pable
contributed a link to a picture of the fruit of M. drummondii.

I think they are exactly correct!

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