Species Native to Missouri
Common Name: clustered poppy mallow
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Malvaceae
Native Range: Central United States
Zone: 5 to 8
Height: 1.00 to 3.00 feet
Spread: 1.00 to 2.00 feet
Bloom Time: July to August
Bloom Description: Deep rose-purple
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Drought
Culture
Grow in dry to medium, well-drained soils in full sun. Prefers a gritty well-drained soil. Tap root gives plant good drought tolerance but makes transplanting of established plants difficult.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Callirhoe triangulata, commonly called clustered poppy mallow, is a generally erect perennial that is native to the deep South (Alabama to North Carolina) and Midwest (Missouri to Wisconsin and Indiana). In Missouri, it has been recorded in the past as growing in four counties (St. Louis, Scott, Franklin and Mississippi) in dryish, rocky or sandy soils in prairies, open woods, sandy open ground and limestone glades (Steyermark). However, it is very rare and possibly extinct in Missouri today. Stems, leaves and flower stalks are hairy. Basal leaves are triangular. Stem leaves are narrower and sometimes lobed. Plants typically grow 1-3’ tall on slender, branching stems. Five-petaled, deep rose-purple flowers (to 2” wide) bloom in clusters at the ends of long axillary stalks. Stamens and style form a prominent central column typical of mallow family members. Blooms in summer (July and August). The closely related purple poppy mallow (Callirhoe involucrata) is, by contrast, a procumbent, mat-forming plant.
Genus name honors the daughter of a minor Greek deity, Achelous, a river god.
Specific epithet means with three angles referring to the lower leaves.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Borders, native plant gardens, wild gardens, cottage gardens, naturalized areas, meadows or prairies. Fits well into both formal garden areas as well as wild areas.