Scientific Name: Pentapetes phoenicea
Common Name: Pink Pentapetes
Description: Tender, ornamental, annual flower; pink, mallow-like blossoms open at noon and close at dawn; distinctive, olive green foliage with serrated edges
Size: Grows 3 to 5 feet; upright habit
Cultural Information: Prefers full sun to light shade and well-drained garden loam
Historical Notes: This unusual plant of the Old World Tropics, rarely cultivated in America, is a member of the chocolate family with brownish-green stems and mallow-like blossoms. It makes a handsome accent plant in the garden. This rare but naturally occurring pink form was selected from plantings of the species. Thomas Jefferson noted the scarlet pentapetes variety in his Garden Book.
- Peggy Cornett, n.d.
