Flame Acanthus

Anisacanthus quadrifidus

Hills guide picknative · Hill Countrysold locally

Flame Acanthus is a shrub native to the Texas Hill Country that grows 3–5 ft tall and 3–4 ft wide. It wants full sun or part shade and very low water, and handles caliche and clay soil. Blooms orange and red in summer and fall. Deer rarely browse it. Good for butterflies, hummingbirds and nectar insects.

Will it grow in your yard?

Enter your ZIP. The finder checks Flame Acanthus against your microclimate, then ranks it against your sun, your watering and deer pressure.

From our guide

Village of the Hills

Fine-textured shrub with small leaves and narrow tubular orange-red flowers all summer.

Why it works here

Hummingbird plant of choice, blooming through August heat with no water on caliche.

Watch out

Cut to the ground in late winter — it flowers on new wood. Reseeds moderately.

The facts

6 sources

Type: Shrub
Sun: Full sun to part shade (3+ hrs)
Water: Very low
Height: 3–5 ft
Spread: 3–4 ft
Bloom: Summer, Fall · orange, red
Foliage: Deciduous
Soil: Takes caliche and clay · recorded on caliche, clay, dry, limestone, loam, moist, rocky, sand, well drained
Deer: High — deer rarely browse it. Consistently left alone even under heavy pressure.
Wildlife: Supports butterflies, hummingbirds and nectar insects

Size, sun, water and foliage from the Village of the Hills guide; the rest resolved across sources.

Where it grows

Recorded in this EPA Level IV ecoregion in the Austin and Hill Country launch area:

Balcones Canyonlands

235 occurrence records in Central Texas (GBIF).

Can you buy it?

Sold at local nurseries. Confirmed in stock at a Central Texas grower in these sizes:

2.5–4.5 inch pots1 gallon

From the growers we read so far — a short list, not the whole trade. Call ahead.