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Onagraceae
Mosquito Flower
Lopezia racemosa
Playfulness and tiny miracles.
- Family
- Onagraceae
- Genus
- Lopezia
- Native to
- Mexico, Central America
- Bloom season
- Summer, Fall
- Type
- annual or short-lived perennial
- Height
- 30–90 cm
- Sunlight
- full sun to part shade
- Soil
- well-drained, average fertility
- Water
- medium
- Hardiness
- 9–11
- Lifespan
- annual or short-lived perennial
Did you know
- The tiny flowers look like hovering mosquitoes, giving the plant its common name.
- Each flower has a unique spring-loaded stamen that flips pollen onto visiting insects — a botanical catapult.
- It was one of the first Mexican plants described by European botanists after the Spanish conquest.
- The genus is named after Tomás López Medel, a 16th-century Spanish historian and naturalist.
- Despite being relatively unknown outside Mexico, it is a prolific self-seeder in mild climates.
Color meanings
Pink
lighthearted joy
Red
miniature passion