Cuphea llavea.
The Red Cupheas are evergreen sub-shrubs 40 to 60 cm high.
They have many branching stems covered with glandular hairs.
The opposite, ovate to lanceolate leaves are 7 to 8 cm long.
They have simple hairs on both surfaces.
The solitary interpetiolar flowers are on short hairy stalks.
The tubular hypanthium is around 2.5 cm long.
It is ribbed, green then purple and has long and short simple hairs on the outer surface.
The 6 small sepal lobes on the rim have short, triangular, hairy processes between them.
The red petals insert just inside the top of the hypanthium.
Two petals have rounded lobes on long, narrow, clawed bases.
The other 4 petals are greatly reduced or absent in the species plants.
There are 11 stamens of 3 different lengths.
They insert at different levels at or near the top of the hypanthium.
The anthers extend just past the tube.
Most of the filaments are covered with purple hairs.
There is a large nectary at the base of the elongated ovary.
The numerous ovules, with axile placentation, mature outside the ovary as
described in the Cuphea notes.
There is a single style with a small bi-lobed stigma.
J.F.
