Common name: Cigar Plant, cigarette plant, firecracker plant, cigar flower
Botanical name: Cuphea ignea Family: Lythraceae (Crape Myrtle family)
Cigar plant is a subshrub, native to Mexico, that grows to
about 3 ft tall with a similar
spread. The leaves are lance shaped or narrowly elliptical and dark green,
2.5-4 cm long and 0.6-1.3 cm wide. They are arranged oppositely on the
stems and flowers arise from leaf axils. The species name ignea is
Latin for fire. This comes from the bright orange flowers that inspire thes
common namee cigar flower. Indeed, they are 1 inch long, tubular fin shape
with a somewhat darker tip look like the burning cigarette tip.
Identification credit: Aarti Khale
| Photographed in Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu. |
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