Texas Gardening: Texas Native Plant Pictures ( Shrubs ), 1 by htop

htop wrote:
Pyramid Bush, Wooly Pyramid Bush, Tea Bush, Malva Rosa, Raichie, (Melochia tomentosa), Sterculiaceae Family, Texas native, subshrub, perennial, blooms in late spring through mid-fall

This small erect shrub is a member of the Chocolate Family, It grows natively in southern Florida and southern Texas through the West Indies and Central America into Brazil and Colombia. In Texas, the species can be found on sandy or rocky soil in dry streambeds, mesquite thickets and palm groves. It inhabits pinelands in southern Florida. It adapts to a wide variety of well-drained soils that are derived from igneous and sedimentary rocks. It is an excellent xeriscape plant that grows quickly and provides lots of color in the heat of the summer.

The ovate to lanciolate, 1.5 to 10.5 cm long by 0.9 to 8.5 cm wide leaves are covered with a short wooly hair giving the plant a gray flannel look and are attached by short petioles. They have serrated margins. The 8 to 13.5 mm long, 5-petaled blooms are a beautiful bright, violet to violet-pink. It produces pyramidal capsules that are 6 to 9 mm across and which contain reddish brown, 2 mm long seeds.

In a natural habitat, it contributes to wildlife cover, soil stability and bio-diversity. Sheep and goats tend to munch it when it is growing with other native plants they like, but cattle tend to leave it alone. Bees and butterflies love the blooms’ nectar. A tea can be made from the foliage to treat colds and as an eye wash.

The pyramid bush makes an excellent border plant in areas that do not receive very much water. It is a great choice for rock gardens and wildscapes. With its lovely blooms that are ever present until the first frost, unusual and full foliage and compact size, pyramid bush as a great plant to use in the landscape. It is difficult to find specimens in nurseries. I love mine so much, I am going to buy another one if and when I am able to locate one

For more comments and information, see its entry in the PlantFiles:
http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/73674/live_view/


This message was edited Jul 23, 2005 1:58 PM