When I saw this for first time, I thought how unusual it looked for a flower. It’s pinwheel like petals make it unique to any other flowers I’ve seen. The plant I saw was only almost two feet tall but it can grow as tall as 9 feet!
This flower can be found in a wide range, from Texas to Florida and can be found in West Indies, Mexico and Cuba. This plant is drought-tolerant but they also can be found humid areas like Houston as long they are under shade. If they are found in full sun, their leaves will get mildew and crinkle (A&M).
This plant is often visited by hummingbirds and butterflies for the flower’s nectar. Birds and mammals visit the plant for the fruit. According to Foraging Texas, this plant is edible. You can cook, boil, or eat it raw with just about anything. Apparently, turk’s cap’s petals are tasty with pancakes. You can eat flower, fruit and green leaves – as they are full of antioxidants, proteins, minerals and vitamin C (depending on which part of plant you are eating – more information can be found in Foraging Texas).
The name, Turk’s Cap, came from the shape of the flower. The flower have been said to resemble to a Turkish turban (Wildflower Center).
My naturalist observation can be found here.