Plant in full sun and irrigate occasionally. We don't yet know the ultimate cold tolerance of this plant as it has not been widely cultivated and since starting to grow this plant in 2008 ,we have not had any hard frosts; the coldest temperature it has sustained has been 30° F, but it did go through this without any damage. This is a beautiful and unusual plant for a large garden, and its flowers are quite attractive to honeybees.

Pavonia candida comes from a wide area of central Mexico and can be found in the states of Coahuila, Queretaro, Jalisco and Michoacán but nowhere is it abundant. It was first described as Malvaviscus candidus by the Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1824 from a specimen originally collected in Zacatecas during the Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain (1787-1803) that was sponsored by King Charles III of Spain and headed by physician Martín Sessé y Lacasta (M. Sessé, V. Cervantes & M. Mociño). The type specimen (Isotype) was later collected in the hills bordering Lake Cuitzeo, in Michoacán, Mexico by American botanist Cyrus Guernsey Pringle in 1892. It was reclassified as a Pavonia by the American botanist Paul A. Fryxell in 1980. The borderline between Pavonia and Malvaviscus is noted as vague but the Pavonia are noted as having fruit with five woody mericarps and Pavonia candida (Mocino & Sesse ex DC.) P.A. Fryxell, is how it is currently listed in Royal Botanic Garden Kew database. The name of the genus honors the Spanish botanist José Antonio Pavón Jiménez (1754-1844). The specific epithet is from the Latin word 'candidus' meaning "white" or "bright" in reference to this plant's pure white flowers. It has also been previously known as Malvaciscus acerifolius, M. pleurogonus and M. pringlei. Besides the common name Acahuita (which we can find no meaning for) this plant is also called "Lirio" in Sinaloa, which translates from Spanish as "Lily", in reference to the pure white blooms resemblance to a lily.

There has been name confusion between this plant and the very different pink flowering South African mallow, Hibiscus pedunculatus, which we also grow. We also grow several other species of Pavonia, including the South African Pavonia praemorsa and the South American Pavonia missionum. We thank Huntington Botanic Garden Conservatory curator Dylan Hannon for introducing us to this plant in 2008 and for providing our initial cutting stock. 

The information displayed on this page about Pavonia candida is based on our research conducted about this plant from books in our nursery library as well as from information that is provided by reliable online resources. We also have included our own observations made about it as it grew in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers when we had them in our nursery field. We also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.