Just as many perennials look tired and worn out and have finished blooming for the summer, the unusual and charming native shrub Turk’s Cap is coming into its own. While visitors to the Rio Grande Valley’s palm grove and mixed forest habitats often find this native shrub with a striking tulip-red flower blooming year-round, surprisingly, during these hottest summer months, it blossoms in greatest profusion.
Turk’s Cap, (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) is a whimsical-looking wildflower. Its stamen extends so disproportionately far beyond its petals that it looks like Mother Nature might have made a mistake.
This unusual design is reminiscent of a traditional Turkish turban, where the center of the turban is quite elevated and noticeable above the brim, hence the flower’s most commonly used name, Turk’s Cap.
The versatility of Turk’s Cap is renowned. It thrives in many native habitats, including sandy lowlands, limestone slopes, palm groves and mixed woodlands. It prefers full to partial shade but can survive in full sunlight. It does well in many soil types from sand to loam to clay and adapts well to dry and moist conditions. When used in native landscaping, it is considered a low-maintenance, easy-to-grow perennial, suitable for even beginning gardeners.
And Turk’s Cap is more than just eye candy. Hummingbirds, butterflies, moths and other nectar-loving insects feed on its red blossoms. Humans do, too, in the form of a delicate tea infused from the blossoms or as an edible salad garnish. Once pollinated, the flowers form fruit that birds, especially Northern Mockingbirds, enjoy. Turk’s cap fruit is even edible for humans. Appearing like a small domed red button, it can be eaten raw and cooked. It is said to taste somewhat like an apple.
Like many domestic fruits, it can also be made into jelly, jam and syrup. Even the young leaves are suitable for human consumption and can be prepared like other garden greens — boiled, steamed or stir-fried.
Typical of many wildflowers, Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii has several other colorful common names besides Turk’s Cap: Texas Mallow, Mexican Apple, Sleeping Hibiscus, Ladies Teardrop and Bleeding Heart. But the name that made me laugh out loud was Scotchman’s Purse, presumably because its blossom never opens too wide. (And that being said, I must testify that all the Scots I am acquainted with, including the one I am married to, are extremely generous souls!)
The Turk’s Cap is a delicate beauty with hardiness and versatility. It is an excellent food source for pollinators, birds and even people — who wouldn’t want to give this striking native flowering shrub a try in their front yard?
