Seasonal Plant Feature: Wine Cups

Wine Cups

Wine Cups, or Callirhoe involucrata is a hot pink delight. It reaches tall heights and blooms all summer long, making it a great statement piece in any native-focused garden.

Yard

Wine cups, also nicknamed Poppy Mallows, are native through much of the United States. They can be found in meadows and prairies stretching from North Dakota down into Louisiana. They are members of the Mallow Family, which includes some of our other favorite natives, like Pineland Hibiscus.

Since they are widespread throughout the Great Plains, Wine Cups are great for drier, unirrigated patches of your garden. They have a thick taproot like a carrot that reaches deep into the soil to draw water that not all plants can access. Wine Cups are also perennials, so they will come back to show off their beauty year after year. Though they prefer full sun for maximum blooms, they will also tolerate partial shade– a truly undemanding plant!

The growth habit of Wine Cups is very interesting, and lends itself to even more uses in the landscape. Stalks can reach a height of 2 feet, but they often fall over when unstaked. That said, fallen stalks can grow and reach horizontally, creating a mat-like groundcover with bright pink flowers. They will also trail beautifully out of hanging baskets or over ledges.

Our Poppy Mallows can be grown from seed, but they require some extra care! Seeds should be soaked in water overnight and stored in a refrigerator for 30 days in wet sand before planting. This simulates the cold overwintering that seeds experience in the wild. Wine Cups can also be grown from cuttings, but wait until February, when blooming has finished but new Spring buds have not yet set.

Body

Although eating Wine Cups is uncommon, their roots and leaves are in fact edible! Their tuberous taproots are sweet like yams and can be eaten cooked or raw. Tubers are largest in the winter after the plant has finished its yearly bloom. Since taproots are sensitive, be sure you think carefully before digging one up!

Just like their mallow relatives Okra, Wine Cups are mucilaginous and become somewhat slimy when cooked. This trait makes them a good add-in for a nice thick stew.

Beyond being edible, Poppy Mallow has medicinal uses! Its roots can be made into a concentrated tea to treat pain, particularly of the stomach and head. The roots can also be dried and ground for smoking. It has been observed that inhaling the smoke or bathing affected areas in a smoke bath can also reduce general pain.

Spirit

The Spirit of the Wine Cup struck me hard this Spring. She is almost neon in hue, the kind of color that makes us question how it could possibly be natural. She is powerful, bright, and in your face– a boldness to aspire to.

Just yesterday as I sat in my yard, two hummingbirds fluttered their way up to my Wine Cups. They danced around the bright flowers, dutifully drinking the nectar within. It was this moment that made me choose Wine Cups as the Whimscapes plant feature this season. I honestly didn’t know too much about them, but intuition guided me to take on the project.

The first thing that struck me about the plant was its botanical name. The latin name for its genus, Callirhoe, is the title of an ancient Greek novel. It tells the story of a supernaturally beautiful woman by that name who has two suitors feuding for her love. Kind of a fun way to start thinking about a plant! She started to seem like the belle of the ball, and maybe even a little standoffish and arrogant.

As I began researching and learning more about this species, the ecological role it plays began to add depth to my vapid Greek character profile. Aside from being beautiful, Wine Cups are nurturers of wildlife.

Their nectar is popular with hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. Their leaves are a favorite snack of rabbits. They are a larval host plant for the Gray Hairstreak and Checkered Skipper Butterflies. The amount of life that gravitates towards these plants is absolutely beautiful.

Thank you, Wine Cups, for being beautiful, confident, and nurturing. May we learn from you and emulate your traits!