Butterfly Flower is a colorful, cool-weather annual or biennial in the nightshade family from the mountains of Chile and Argentina with blooms that look similar to an orchid without all the work that orchids can demand. The flowers occur in clusters from spring until the heat of summer in various colors from red, pink yellow, white and purple and often have a yellow throat. The foliage is attractive, deeply cut and fern-like. Genus name comes from the Greek schizo meaning to divide and anthos meaning a flower as the corolla is deeply cut. The species name refers to the deeply cut pinate leaves. Butterfly Flower grows in well-drained average soil in sun to partial shade. It will benefit from some afternoon sun protection and is a poor performer in summer heat. The plant is easily sown from seeds. The plant will grow to about 18 inches high and 1 foot wide and the tops can be pinched to encourage branching. Use in the border, cutting garden, containers or even as a houseplant. It is commonly cultivated as an ornamental bedding plant. Diseases, Insect Pests, and Other Plant Problems: No serious diseases or insect problems. Do not overwater to prevent root 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) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Loam (Silt)
Soil drainage
Good Drainage | Occasionally Dry
Available space
12 inches-3 feet
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 1 ft. 0 in. - 1 ft. 6 in. | Width: 0 ft. 9 in. - 1 ft. 0 in.
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
4 - Herbaceous (1-3 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Compound (Pinnately , Bipinnately, Palmately)
Leaf arrangement
Alternate
Leaf shape
Lanceolate; Ovate
Leaf margin
Dentate; Entire; Lobed
Leaf size
3-6 inches long, 1-3 inches wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Finely cut green leaves up to 4 inches long. with deeply cut leaves (to 4” long) having entire to dentate segments.
Flower color
Gold/Yellow; Pink; Purple/Lavender; Red/Burgundy; White
Flower value
Good Cut; Showy
Flower form
Cyme
Flower shape
Irregular
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Two inch blooms in clusters in various colors from May into late summer. Its variously colored flowers resemble the flowers of some orchids, hence the common name, Poor Man's Orchid.
Bloom time
Spring; Summer
Fruit type
Capsule
Stem color
Green
Stem detail
Green stems with hairs. Plants typically grow to 18” tall on erect, branching stems.
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Unknown
Origin
Chile
Distribution
Introduced into Britain, Germany, Northeastern United States.
Food & Medicine
Fruit type
Capsule
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Container; Houseplants; Patio; Small Space; Walkways