Scarlet Rosemallow
Muenchhusia coccinea
Found in freshwater marshes; swamps; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 82%
- Height
- Up to about 10 feet
- Light
- Sun
- Soil moisture
- Wet
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
Not yet recorded · Spread · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 26 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement.
Habitats
Freshwater marshes; swamps; roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.
Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats
Who uses this plant?
41CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Hibiscus
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Alabama argillaceaCotton Moth, Cotton Leafworm Moth, Cotton-Worm Moth
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anomis erosaYellow Scallop Moth, Mallow Caterpillar
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
- Anomis illitaOkra Leafworm Moth
- Anomis impastaGrey-Eyed Scalloped Moth
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Burnsius albezensWhite Checkered-Skipper, Western Checkered Skipper
Show all 41
- Burnsius communisCommon Checkered-Skipper
- Burnsius oileusTropical Checkered-Skipper
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Halysidota cinctipesFlorida Tussock Moth
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Idia lubricalisGlossy Black Idia
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Meskea dyspterariaWindow-Winged Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon istapaMallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Dotted Hairstreak; Modest Hairstreak, [Columella Hairstreak : former mis-applied name]
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Synanthedon geliformisPecan Bark Borer Moth
- Tarache apricaExposed Bird-Dropping Moth
- Tarache delectaDelightful Bird-Dropping Moth
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
- Chionodes hibiscella
- Epiblema numerosana
- Telamoptilia hibiscivora
26BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Hibiscus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Hibiscus
- Ptilothrix bombiformis
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hibiscus
- Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Plant details
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Flower color
- Red
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Flower color · “Red” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Height · “Up to about 10 feet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Light · “Sun” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- primary_flower_color · “red” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
- Soil · “Wet” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
Also known as
Muenchhusia coccinea
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G4? |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications