''Cuphea'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

containing about 260

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual * Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), ...

and

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s native to warm

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition ...

plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Commonly they are known as cupheas, or, in the case of some species, as cigar plants. The generic name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

word κυφος (''kyphos''), meaning "bent," "curved," or "humped."

Uses

Several ''Cuphea'' species are popular

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s or

honey plant Honeybees usually collect nectar, pollen, or both from the following species of plants, which are called honey plants, for making honey. Acanthaceae (Acanthus family) *'' Avicennia nitida'' Jacq. or Avicennia ...

s. '' C. ignea'' 'David Verity' and '' C. micropetalia'' are popular plants to attract

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics ar ...

s. Some species of ''Cuphea'' are used to produce cuphea oil, of interest as sources of

medium-chain triglyceride Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are triglycerides with two or three fatty acids having an aliphatic tail of 6–12 carbon atoms, i.e. medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs). Rich food sources for commercial extraction of MCTs include palm kernel oil a ...

s. For most purposes, cuphea oil is identical to

coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates duri ...

and

palm oil Palm oil is an edible vegetable oil derived from the mesocarp (reddish pulp) of the fruit of the oil palms. The oil is used in food manufacturing, in beauty products, and as biofuel. Palm oil accounted for about 33% of global oils produced fr ...

; these are derived from strictly tropical plants however and – particularly in the latter case – the expanding production of which has caused a considerable amount of

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

. ''Cuphea'' may thus produce a valuable source of income for farmers in temperate regions, and by supplementing coconut and palm oil to satisfy the growing demand (e.g. for

biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat ( tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil ...

production) at the same time decreasing the need for wholesale logging in tropical countries. Early attempts at commercial production have focused on an interspecific

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two diff ...

population derived from '' C. lanceolata'' and Clammy Cuphea ('' C. viscosissima''). ''Cuphea'' has also been shown to improve agricultural crops in North America when used in

crop rotation Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of different types of crops in the same area across a sequence of growing seasons. It reduces reliance on one set of nutrients, pest and weed pressure, and the probability of developing resistant ...

. Crop rotation is commonly practiced among farmers to improve

soil quality Soil quality refers to the condition of soil based on its capacity to perform ecosystem services that meet the needs of human and non-human life.Tóth, G., Stolbovoy, V. and Montanarella, 2007. Soil Quality and Sustainability Evaluation - An integr ...

, control host-specific pests, and decrease the use of fertilizers and pesticides. When cuphea was introduced into the crop rotation of corn and wheat, scientists from the

Agricultural Research Service The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ex ...

of the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

found that the addition of ''cuphea'' had positive effects on the following harvest, including a higher yield of crop and crops that are higher in protei

Such research reveals how ''cuphea'' can be used in agriculture to increase the profitability of crops like wheat and corn. The seed oils of some species are very rich in one particular

fatty acid In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...

. '' C. painteri'' oil, for example, is about three-quarters

caprylic acid Caprylic acid (), also known under the systematic name octanoic acid or C8 Acid, is a saturated fatty acid, medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA). It has the structural formula , and is a colorless oily liquid that is minimally soluble in water with ...

; '' C. carthagenensis'' oil consists of about 80%

lauric acid Lauric acid, systematically dodecanoic acid, is a saturated fatty acid with a 12-carbon atom chain, thus having many properties of medium-chain fatty acids. It is a bright white, powdery solid with a faint odor of bay oil or soap. The salts and ...

. '' C. koehneana'' oil may be the richest natural source of a single fatty acid, with 95% of its content consisting of

capric acid Capric acid, also known as decanoic acid or decylic acid, is a saturated fatty acid, medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA), and carboxylic acid. Its formula is CH3(CH2)8COOH. Salts and esters of decanoic acid are called caprates or decanoates. The ...

. Currently the plant is not commonly used for medicinal effects; however, chemical analysis of its fatty oils suggest the plant could possibly serve as an algicidal, fungicidal or antibiotic agent. There is also reason to believe the plant could be effective as an appetite stimulant.

Selected species

* ''

Cuphea aspera ''Cuphea aspera'' is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family known by the common names tropical waxweed and Chapman's waxweed. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is limited to Gulf and Franklin Counties on th ...

'' Chapman * ''

Cuphea carthagenensis ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

'' (

Jacq. Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin (16 February 172726 October 1817) was a scientist who studied medicine, chemistry and botany. Biography Born in Leiden in the Netherlands, he studied medicine at Leiden University, then moved first to P ...

) J.F.MacBr. * ''

Cuphea cyanea ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

* ''

Cuphea decandra ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' W.T.Aiton * ''

Cuphea elegans ''Cuphea elegans'' is a species of flowering plants native to Brazil. The species is recognized by Tropicos whereas The Plant List The Plant List was a list of botanical names of species of plants created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew a ...

'' * ''

Cuphea epilobiifolia ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

'' * ''

Cuphea hookeriana ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

Walp. Wilhelm Gerhard Walpers (26 December 1816 in Mühlhausen – 18 June 1853 in Berlin) was a German botanist. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing a botanical name. He received his education at the Universities of Grei ...

* '' Cuphea hyssopifolia''

Kunth Carl Sigismund Kunth (18 June 1788 – 22 March 1850), also Karl Sigismund Kunth or anglicized as Charles Sigismund Kunth, was a German botanist. He is known for being one of the first to study and categorise plants from the American continent ...

– false heather, Mexican heather * '' Cuphea ignea''

A.DC. Alphonse Louis Pierre Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (28 October 18064 April 1893) was a French-Swiss botanist, the son of the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle. Biography De Candolle, son of Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, first dev ...

* ''

Cuphea ingrata ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

Cham. Adelbert von Chamisso (; 30 January 178121 August 1838) was a German poet and botanist, author of ''Peter Schlemihl'', a famous story about a man who sold his shadow. He was commonly known in French as Adelbert de Chamisso (or Chamissot) de Bon ...

et Schltdl. * ''

Cuphea jorullensis ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' Kunth * ''

Cuphea koehneana ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' Rose * ''

Cuphea laminuligera ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

'' Koehne * '' Cuphea lanceolata'' W.T.Aiton * ''

Cuphea linarioides ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

et Schltdl. * '' Cuphea llavea'' Lex. – bat-faced cuphea Rainy Side Gardeners: Cuphea llavea 'Tiny Mice'
/ref> * ''

Cuphea lutea ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' Rose * ''

Cuphea lutescens ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

'' Hoehne * ''

Cuphea melvilla ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

* ''

Cuphea mesostemon ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

'' Koehne * ''

Cuphea micropetala ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' Kunth * '' Cuphea nudicostata'' * ''

Cuphea oreophila ''Cuphea oreophila'' also known as the sacred flower of the Andes is a ''Lythraceae'' perennial plant that grows into a small bush. Native to Guatemala and the Mexican state of Chiapas, it was first described by Townshend Stith Brandegee, TS Bran ...

'' * ''

Cuphea painteri ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' Rose * ''

Cuphea parsonsia ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of Annual plant, annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plant, herbaceous plants to se ...

'' (L.) R.Br. ex Steud. – island wax weed * ''

Cuphea procumbens ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

Ortega Ortega is a Spanish surname. A baptismal record in 1570 records a ''de Ortega'' "from the village of Ortega". There were several villages of this name in Spain. The toponym derives from Latin ''urtica'', meaning "nettle". Some of the Ortega spel ...

* ''

Cuphea salvadorensis ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to ta ...

'' Standl. * ''

Cuphea speciosa ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

Mart. Carl Friedrich Philipp (Karl Friedrich Philipp) von Martius (17 April 1794 – 13 December 1868) was a German botany, botanist and explorer. Life Martius was born at Erlangen, the son of Prof Ernst Wilhelm Martius, court apothecary. He graduat ...

* ''

Cuphea strigulosa ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

'' * '' Cuphea viscosissima'' Jacq. – clammy cuphea, blue waxweed, tarweed * ''

Cuphea wrightii ''Cuphea'' is a genus containing about 260 species of annual and perennial flowering plants native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Americas. The species range from low-growing herbaceous plants to semi-woody shrubs up to tall. Co ...

A.Gray Asa Gray (November 18, 1810 – January 30, 1888) is considered the most important American botanist of the 19th century. His '' Darwiniana'' was considered an important explanation of how religion and science were not necessarily mutually exc ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1795637 Lythraceae genera