An Apple by Any Other Name
By Raye Nilius, Grayson County Master Gardener
When I bought this house eight years ago, winter was packing its bindle and looking to depart North Texas. The days began to lengthen, rain fell, and Spring’s entrance was like a waterfall of diamonds.
In my new backyard an ocean of Mexican Petunias fought for space, nearly encompassing a yellow Floribunda Rose. Shasta Daisies grew near the patio and later, Calla Lilies bloomed passionate purple. These newly discovered treasures were a welcome parade of color in the plain Bermuda landscape.
Early in the season I discovered a swarm of green sprouts beneath the Weeping Holly by the patio. Thinking they were some random weeds, I pulled them up. They kept coming back. They were relentless.
God bless the former owners for planting such riches. I soon learned that the relentless sprouts were those of a shrub native to Texas and named after the shape of its flowers – Turk’s Cap. Typically growing two to three feet tall and just as wide in North Texas, it dies to the ground every winter. Tulip-like crimson flowers spiral upward like pinwheels around a longer stalk. Red flowered Turk’s Cap are common but pink, yellow, and white flowered varieties are also available.
A member of the Mallow Family, Turk’s Cap’s scientific name is Malvaviscus arboreus from the Latin malva meaning mallow, and viscus which means sticky. The term arboreus signifies that the plant is woody. Our red Turk’s Cap is Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii, named for Thomas Drummond, the Scottish botanist who discovered it in Texas in 1833.
Turk’s Cap has multiple common names: Mexican Apple, Chicken Apple, Manzanilla (Little Apple), Sleeping Hibiscus, Wax Mallow, and Cardinal’s Hat. In the Cook Islands it is known as Kaute Moe. With so many aliases, it is clear why scientific names are important.
If you have a Turk’s Cap in your yard, set the table because you have an edible perennial. The flower petals and the leaves are edible either cooked or fresh. Salads can be upgraded with freshly plucked and washed Turk’s Cap flowers. The taste is like the floral, slightly sweet dew from honeysuckle. The flowers can also be used to make a peach colored dye or reddish tea.
Later in the season, small green fruits appear that ripen into shiny red orbs about a half inch in diameter. These are the Turk’s Cap’s apples. They are crunchy, slightly sweet, and somewhat dry. Bite one in half and you will find a tiny apple-like core.
Turk’s Cap is a wildlife buffet. When they are here, hummingbirds and butterflies visit each flower in turn, systematically hovering and sampling the flowers’ nectar. Where there are two or more
Hummingbirds, there is drama. We have watched hummers dive bombing each other to get the flowers all to themselves.
Turk’s Cap serves as the primary host for the buff-colored, fuzzy caterpillar of the Turk’s Cap White Skipper. The caterpillar feeds on the leaves while the adult butterfly (buff with brown spots) consumes nectar from the flowers.
After one season living with Turk’s Cap, I just had to have more. The next spring, when shoots were plentiful, I pulled several up. After scraping the bottom of each shoot, I dipped them in rooting hormone, and planted them in enriched soil. Because they do best in partial shade, I chose locations where they would receive both dappled sun and sprinkler water.
At that time I didn’t know them very well. I had no idea that I had played into their hands and became an accomplice to their strategic goals. Years later a dear friend told me that she had planted some Turk’s Cap in her garden and “They just took over!” They sure enough did. By propagating more, I was enabling them to conquer my planting beds as their exclusive territory.
Turk’s Cap spreads by root suckers and as I have discovered, are wildly successful. Without confinement, they spread like a runaway herd of galloping Zebras.
One summer, inspired by their abundance, my husband decided to make jelly with the tiny apples. Ever vigilant, we hunted for them every day, saving the tiny apples in the freezer for the big event. It took a month and a half to collect four cups. For the jelly, he followed a recipe shared online at https://www.sweetsouthernblue.com/2014/06/02/turks-cap-jelly/. Inexplicably, our jelly never jelled. No worries, though. We sealed the pint of syrup in a Mason jar and now and then enjoy its sweet, slightly tart goodness on buckwheat waffles or ice cream.
Turk’s Cap can get ragged and leggy late in the summer. And why not? They are enjoyed by caterpillars, grasshoppers, and other small creatures that chew on the leaves. One year there were so many critters feasting on my Turk’s Cap that the leaves looked like lace doilies. If you find your Turk’s Cap in this condition, you may try what I did. I brought the hedge trimmer out and sheared them off to the ground. Surprise! They sprang back with new resolve and before long had filled in the space with lush, thick growth.
In 2011 Turk’s Cap was designated a Texas Superstar Plant by Texas AgriLife Research. It is highly adaptable to varying types of soil, drought resistant, and hardy in zones 7b-11. Turk’s Cap’s benefits to wildlife are a special bonus as it is a magnet for hummingbirds and butterflies. The blooms keep coming all summer long in shady or partial sun. If you want this Texas treasure in your yard, you can find Turk’s Cap for sale at local nurseries in late spring. They are also easy to propagate from spring shoots. As always, my friends, happy gardening!