Chocolate Flower

Berlandiera lyrata

This Southwest native plant features chocolate-scented flowers. They open in the early morning, and that’s when they have their strongest fragrance.

Chocolate flower is great along a border and planted in masses where you can brush against the fragrance when you walk by. They also attract butterflies.

It’s a small creeping plant that grows in clumps. They grow very quickly to 12-18″ tall by about 2′ wide.

It’s usually evergreen, but it can get lanky and look unkempt when it gets older, so shear it periodically to reinvigorate new growth.

The flowers only last a day or so. They drop their petals in the heat. They form a lot of seeds but it is not invasive. This plant is easily started from seed in the early spring after the last frost.

It’s very drought tolerant, but a little bit of extra water once a week or so will encourage growth and flowering.

These plants love the full sun but also like light shade. It tolerates all kinds of soil types. Chocolate flower also makes a great container plant.