Purple poppy mallow is an herbaceous perennial wildflower in the mallow (Malvaceae) family native to the central U.S.A. The Genus name honors the daughter of a minor Greek deity, Achelous, a river god. The species name means with an involucre which is a ring of bracts around a cluster of flowers. Purple poppy mallow prefers full sun in well-drained moist to occasionally dry soil. The plant grows only 6-12 inches high but forms mats up to 3 feet wide. It has a long taproot that can make transplanting established plants difficult but this showy magenta flower will easily self-seed in your landscape. The taproot does help with increased drought and dry soil tolerance. The showy purple flowers have a long bloom season throughout summer. Purple poppy mallow received the 1999 Plant Select® winner and the Plant of Merit designation from the Royal Horticultural Society. Consider this plant for a rock garden, a border front or have it naturalize in a meadow. It also looks nice cascading over a wall. It especially needs well-drained soils in wet winter conditions. Purple Poppy Mallow may start dying back in late summer after blooming. Insects, Diseases, and Other Plant Problems: No significant problems. Wet soils can cause crown rot.
Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds
whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.
No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.
Also noted by NC State
Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell
apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand; Shallow Rocky
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Moist | Occasionally Dry
Available space
Less than 12 inches; 12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 0 ft. 6 in. - 1 ft. 0 in. | Width: 0 ft. 6 in. - 3 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Low
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Prostrate
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Orbicular; Palmasect
Leaf margin
Lobed; Serrate
Hairs present
No
Leaf detail
Leaves are 4 x 4 inches and palmately divided into 5-7 lobes. They are generally orbicular in outline and coarsely toothed.
Flower color
Pink; Red/Burgundy
Flower value
Long Bloom Season; Showy
Flower form
Solitary
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Individual cup-shaped showy magenta flowers are 1.5-2.5" across with a prominate stamen and 5 broad petals that are often white near the base. They appear in late spring and continue blooming through summer.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Schizocarp
Fruit size
< 1 inch long, < 1 inch wide
Fruit detail
Schizocarps that are arranged together like a ring, are flattened and reniform (kidney-shaped) with short hairy beaks. Each contains a single seed.
Stem color
Green; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy
Stem detail
Light green to dull reddish-purple angular stems are covered with spreading white hairs
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Central U.S.A. and Mexico
Distribution
AR , AZ , CO , FL , IA , IL , IN , KS , MI , MN , MO , ND , NE , NM , OK , OR , PA , TX , VA , WY
Wildlife value
Larval host and/or nectar source for the Gray Hairstreak Butterfly (Strymon melons).
Attracts
Pollinators
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Schizocarp
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Meadow; Naturalized Area; Rock Wall
Landscape theme
Drought Tolerant Garden; Rock Garden
Design feature
Border
Garden tags
#rocky soils tolerant #flowers late spring #flowers early summer #rock garden #border planting #naturalizes #dry soils tolerant #low maintenance #border front #drought tolerant #flowers late summer #magenta flowers #self-seeding #flowers mid-summer #cascading #larval host plant #flowers early fall #wildflower