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 TS Brandegee and Rimo Bacigalupi in 1933.
Cuphea oreophila has strongly veined lime-green leaves NaNround=5NaNround=5 long and 1- wide and narrow bright red trumpet-shaped flowers NaNor long.[1] [2] It grows to a maximum height of 10feet in the wild[1] but usually 4feet tall and wide in cultivation.[1] [2] It has unusually large leaflike appendages.[3]
The species is native to montane forests in Chiapas near its border with Oaxaca, at elevations of between 4500and,[1] and in 1982 was also collected in Guatemala.[3]