Holmskioldia sanguinea - Chinese hat plant

About ten species of Holmskioldia are native to Africa and Asia. The Chinese hat plant is a large shrub with yellow, orange, or red flowers. The shrub is evergreen in the tropics. The flowers are distinctive with a round cup-like bract at the base of a tubular flower. After the flowers fall, the bract (the "Chinese hat") remains. It is native to the Himalayas in and around India. Hummingbirds visit the flowers.

This tropical plant was a surprise. Planted as an annual, it died to the ground and resprouted the following spring. It has survived temperatures in the mid-20's F. Probably, it is best planted south of the St. Johns River in a protected spot.