A few years ago, I was given a small Brazilian red cloak plant to try in my landscape. It grew vigorously to about eight-feet tall by the following year and became a stunning specimen in my front flower bed. At Christmas it was festooned with countless flowerheads that looked like ornaments on the somewhat bulky, pyramidal plant. Passersby actually stopped to praise the plant and ask what it was. This stunning tropical plant produces red and white flower spikes up to twelve inches tall complete with rich, green tropical foliage – it should be on your gardening bucket list!
While the Brazilian red cloak is native to Venezuela, it is also now found throughout tropical America. Growing from six to eight feet tall and wide, this evergreen semi-woody perennial plant has large green leaves with especially noticeable pleated venation. These are topped in time by red bracts (the red “cloaks”) which hide and protect the curly white true flowers. The bracts are not true flowers and are more leave-like in structure, but retain a brilliant, showy red color long after the white flowers have faded away. While it can make a great container plant – even a houseplant – its real glory is revealed only as a landscape plant in the right site conditions. When planted in full morning sun to some afternoon shade, this plant will thrive and grow rapidly. The right site is important – too much full afternoon sun can cause wilting and bleached flowers. Fully mature plants can flower on and off year-round, but the most abundant blooming will occur from late fall through early summer. The red cloak is a very robust shrub but can be managed by pruning to keep it bushy and within bounds.
Most red cloaks are used as a specimen plant, an informal hedge, or a screen. As their growth rate is very fast, propagation by cuttings for additional plants can easily expand your stock. While hardy in zone 10, it can get zipped by frost on occasion in some locations. The one specimen in our Demonstration Garden has been damaged a bit by frosts and freezes in the past, but it grows back with little lasting impact. Large, containerized specimens can be taken inside for protection during frosty weather.
Brazilian red cloaks are also attractive to hummingbirds and likely a whole slew of pollinators messing around in the true white flowers. These massive flowers also lend themselves to use as cut flowers, so make sure to take advantage of this feature.
Securing your own Brazilian red cloak may include propagating one from a friend, finding one at a local family-operated garden center, or through on-line mail order nurseries. You will then realize that the Brazilian red cloak is a landscape plant extraordinaire! For more information on all types of flowering plants suitable for our area, or to ask a question, please visit https://www.facebook.com/CharlotteCountyExtension. You can also call the Master Gardener Volunteer Helpdesk on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer Ralph E. Mitchell is the Director/Horticulture Agent for UF/IFAS Extension Charlotte County. He can be reached at 941-764-4344 or ralph.mitchell@charlottecountyfl.gov. Connect with us on social media. Like us on Facebook @CharlotteCountyExtension and follow us on Instagram @ifascharco.
Resources:
Missouri Botanical Garden – Megaskepasma erythrochlamys. (2026) http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=e966
Landre, C. (2026) Brazilian Red Cloak – Megaskepasma erythrochlamys. South-Florida-Plant-Guide.com.
2
