''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'', known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of tropical hibiscus, a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

Hibisceae Hibisceae is a tribe of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, subfamily Malvoideae. Genera The following genera are included: *''Abelmoschus'' Medik. *''Anotea'' (DC.) Kunth *'' Cenocentrum'' Gagnep. *''Decaschistia'' Wight & Arn. ...

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Malvaceae. It is widely cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in the tropics and subtropics, but its native range is Vanuatu.

Description

Citrus swallowtails (Papilio demodocus) Principe

Tree and leaves

''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' is a bushy,

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

or small

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

growing tall and wide. The plant has a branched taproot. Its stem is aerial, erect, green, cylindrical, and branched. Its leaves are simple and

petiolate Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, a ...

, with alternate ''phyllotaxy''. The leaf shape is ovate, the tip is acute, and the margin is serrated. ''Venation'' is unicostate reticulate, meaning the leaves' veins are branched or divergent. Its surface is glossy. Free lateral stipules are present.

Flowers

Its flowers bloom in summer and autumn. They are solitary ( axillary) and symmetrical. They are typically red, with five petals in diameter, with prominent orange-tipped red

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

. Cultivars and hybrids have flowers in a variety of colors as well as red: white, pink, orange, peach, yellow, blue, and purple. Some plants have double flowers. Chinarose1

At the bottom of every hibiscus bud is the

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

, which is green in color. The pointed ends of the calyx are called the sepals. When the hibiscus begins to bloom, the flower's petals begin to grow. Each hibiscus flower has both male and female parts. The

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. ...

and other female parts of the flower lie in the main structure of the hibiscus: the

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

, which is long and tubular. The five "hairy" spots at the top of the pistil make up the stigma, which is where

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

is collected. In the middle of the pistil is the style, which is the tube down which pollen travels to the ovary. The ovary lies at the bottom of the blossom, and each hibiscus has only one superior ovary. The male part of the flower, called the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

, consists of stem-like filaments and anthers. Each filament ends with the pollen-producing

anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

Taxonomy

''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' was first described in 1753 by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in ''

Species Plantarum ' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...

''. The specific epithet ''rosa-sinensis'' literally means "rose of China", although the plant is not closely related to true roses, nor is it from China. The genus ''Hibiscus'' is in the tribe

and the subfamily

Malvoideae Malvoideae is a botanical name at the rank of subfamily, which includes in the minimum the genus ''Malva''. It was first used by Burnett in 1835, but was not much used until recently, where, within the framework of the APG System, which unites th ...

of the family Malvaceae.

Ecology

Despite its size and colorful hues which are typically attractive to

nectarivore In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits a ...

birds, the flowers of ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' are not visited regularly by

hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the biological family Trochilidae. With about 361 species and 113 genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but the vast majority of the species are found in the tropics aro ...

s when grown in the Neotropics. Generalist species, like the sapphire-spangled emerald (''Amazilia lactea),'' or long-billed species, like the

stripe-breasted starthroat The stripe-breasted starthroat (''Heliomaster squamosus'') is a species of hummingbird in the "mountain gems", tribe Lampornithini in subfamily Trochilinae. It is endemic to Brazil.HBW and BirdLife International (2020) ''Handbook of the Birds of ...

(''Heliomaster squamosus'') are occasionally seen to visit the flowers. In the subtropical and temperate

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

, hummingbirds are regularly attracted to hibiscus. The endangered ''

Papilio homerus ''Papilio homerus'', commonly known as the Homerus swallowtail or Jamaican swallowtail, is the largest butterfly species in the Western Hemisphere. The species is endangered and faces a potentially bleak future. Only two small populations of the ...

'' butterfly, the largest in the western hemisphere, is known to feed on the nectar of the ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis''.

Genetics

''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' is one of many plant species with a genetic characteristic known as polyploidy, a condition in which the species has more than two complete sets of chromosomes. A result of polyploidy is that the

phenotype In genetics, the phenotype () is the set of observable characteristics or traits of an organism. The term covers the organism's morphology or physical form and structure, its developmental processes, its biochemical and physiological proper ...

of a plant's offspring may be quite different from the parent plant, or indeed any ancestor, essentially allowing possibly random expression of any (or all) of the characteristics of previous generations. Because of this characteristic, ''H. rosa-sinensis'' has become popular with hobbyists who cross and recross varieties, creating new varieties. Competitions are held to exhibit and judge the many resulting new seedlings and often strikingly unique flowers.

Uses

The flowers of ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' are edible and are used in salads in the

Pacific Islands Collectively called the Pacific Islands, the islands in the Pacific Ocean are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of se ...

. The flower is used as an accessory, particularly as a hairpiece. It is also used to shine shoes in certain parts of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, hence the common name "shoeblack plant". In

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

, these flowers are called "kembang sepatu" or "bunga sepatu", which literally means "shoe flower". The flower can also be used as a pH indicator; when used, the flower turns acidic solutions to a dark pink or magenta color and turns basic solutions to green. Red hibiscus flowers are also used for worship; in Hinduism, they are used for the worship of

Devi Devī (; Sanskrit: देवी) is the Sanskrit word for 'goddess'; the masculine form is ''deva''. ''Devi'' and ''deva'' mean 'heavenly, divine, anything of excellence', and are also gender-specific terms for a deity in Hinduism. The conce ...

, and in the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

area of eastern

, they are used to worship

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

. The hibiscus also has an important part in

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

. In several countries the flowers are dried to use in a beverage, usually

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

. ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' is considered to have a number of medical uses in Chinese herbology. Traditional uses in China have been to make a black shoe-polish from its flower petals, or to make a woman's black

hair dye Hair coloring, or hair dyeing, is the practice of changing the hair color. The main reasons for this are cosmetic: to cover gray or white hair, to change to a color regarded as more fashionable or desirable, or to restore the original hair color ...

. The flowers are also used in parts of China to color various intoxicating liquors. The plant may have some potential in cosmetic skin care; for example, an extract from the flowers of ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' has been shown to function as an anti-solar agent by absorbing ultraviolet radiation.

Cultivation

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis bud captured at noon in West Bengal

White coloured flower bud of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis at night

''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' is widely grown as an

throughout the

tropics The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

and

subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north and ...

. As it does not tolerate temperatures below , in

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

regions it is best grown under glass. Plants grown in containers may be placed outside during the summer months and moved into shelter during the winter months. Numerous

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s exist, with flower colors ranging from white through yellow and orange to scarlet and shades of pink, with both single and double sets of petals. The cultivar 'Cooperi' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

National symbol

''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' is the national flower of

, called ''bunga raya'' in

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

. This can be translated in a number of ways, including "great flower" or "celebratory flower." Introduced into the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula (Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area ...

in the 12th century, it was nominated as the national flower in the year 1958 by the Ministry of Agriculture amongst a few other flowers, namely

ylang ylang ''Cananga odorata'', known as ylang-ylang ( ) or cananga tree, is a tropical tree that is native to the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Queensland, Australia. It is also native to parts of Thailand and Viet ...

jasmine Jasmine ( taxonomic name: ''Jasminum''; , ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family (Oleaceae). It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are widely cultiva ...

lotus Lotus may refer to: Plants *Lotus (plant), various botanical taxa commonly known as lotus, particularly: ** ''Lotus'' (genus), a genus of terrestrial plants in the family Fabaceae **Lotus flower, a symbolically important aquatic Asian plant also ...

rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

, and medlar. On July 28, 1960, it was declared by the government of Malaysia that ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' would be the national flower. The red of the petals symbolizes the courage, life, and rapid growth of the Malaysian people, and the five petals represent the five ''

Rukun Negara The ''Rukun Negara'' (also spelled ''Rukunegara''; Malay for "National Principles") is the Malaysian declaration of national philosophy instituted by royal proclamation on Merdeka Day, 1970, in reaction to a serious race riot known as the 13 ...

'' of Malaysia. The flower can be found imprinted on the notes and coins of the

Malaysian ringgit The Malaysian ringgit (; plural: ringgit; symbol: RM; currency code: MYR; Malay name: ''Ringgit Malaysia''; formerly the Malaysian dollar) is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 ''sen'' (formerly ''cents''). The ringgit is issue ...

. ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' is an unofficial national flower in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

, where it has been used as a symbol for the promotion of tourism. The flower is also the symbol of the Fusion of Haitian Social Democrats political party. It is known in

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

language as ''choeblack'' or ''rose kayenn''. The yellow variety of the hibiscus is the official flower of Hawaiʻi, where it is often hybridized and is worn ornamentally in the hair and in lei. In Hawaiian, hibiscus is called ''aloalo.''

Cultural references

*In March 1987,

DPR Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

issued a

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

depicting ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis''. *On October 7, 2012,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

issue
a stamp set of four
one of which depicted a ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'' flower.

Gallery

Cultivars with flowers of many colours are used as ornamental plants. Some have double petals or have differently shaped petals. File:Cayena (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), jardín del molino, Sierra de San Felipe, Setúbal, Portugal, 2012-05-11, DD 02.JPG File:Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Brilliant' flower in private Austrian garden on 2014-09-20.png File:Orange Hibiscus1.jpg File:Starr 070313-5691 Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.jpg File:Hibiscus A.JPG File:Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Rainbow Sherbet' flower in private Austrian garden on 2014-09-20.png File:3935 - Chinesischer Roseneibisch (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis).JPG File:Hibiscus (5).jpg File:Hibiscus rosa-sinensis white-pink.jpg File:Shoe Flower Dehradun 2009.jpg File:Pink Hibiscus at Sakherbazar ,Kolkata.jpg File:Starr 061223-2694 Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.jpg File:Hibiscus rosa-sinensis in Zijderveld, the Netherlands.JPG File:Hibiscus rosa-sinensis flower in private Austrian garden on 2016-03-20.png File:Closeup of multi color Hibiscus at Sakherbazar, Kolkata.jpg File:Hibiscus At Kerala.jpg File:Shoeblackplant (White Hibiscus).jpg File:Shoeblackplant (Light Pink Hibiscus).jpg File:朱槿 Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 20201012185058 01.jpg File:朱槿 Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 20201028130147 02.jpg File:Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Hong Kong Park, December 2019 03.jpg File:Hibiscus Plant.jpg File:Hibiscus Lamma Island Hong Kong 20191105 140532.jpg File:The rising china rose.jpg

References

External links

*Hibiscus rosa-sinensis(India)(http://in.pinterest.com/pin/ * (2005): Beija-flores (Aves, Trochilidae) e seus recursos florais em uma área urbana do Sul do Brasil ummingbirds (Aves, Trochilidae) and their flowers in an urban area of southern Brazil ortuguese with English abstract''Revista Brasileira de Zoologia'' 22(1): 51–59. PDF fulltext
* * The International Hibiscus Society

* The American Hibiscus Society

* The Australian Hibiscus Society Inc.

* Hibiscusmania (France)

* Hibiscusfreunde (Germany)

* Hibiscus Forrest (Hungary)

The Hibiscus
(Gurgaon) {{Malaysia topics Hibiscus, rosa-sinensis Garden plants of Asia Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus National symbols of Malaysia