''Hibiscus fragilis'', the mandrinette, is an extremely rare

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 ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to steep slopes of the mountains

Corps de Garde Corps de Garde (translation: ''Guard Corpse'') is a 720-metre-high mountain of volcanic origin, in the area Palma in the Black River district of Mauritius. The name derived from the fact that a French military post was once established on its slope ...

and

Le Morne Brabant Le Morne Brabant is a peninsula at the extreme southwestern tip of the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius on the western side of the island. It is highlighted by an eponymous basaltic monolith with a summit above sea level. The summit covers an are ...

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

and from two further plants on Rodrigues. The mandrinette is an

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 ...

plant with

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s 7–10 cm diameter with five bright pink to carmine red petals. The mandrinette looks rather similar to the

Chinese hibiscus ''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'', known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is wide ...

(''Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'') and the introduction of that to Mauritius as a garden plant is one of the main reasons for the dramatic decline of the mandrinette. Only 46 mature individuals exist in the wild but they are not able to reproduce due to competition from and hybridisation with this invasive ''Hibiscus'' species. There are currently 200 plants in nurseries.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,10 ...

is attempting to reproduce seedlings of the species, with the help of

Ex-situ conservation Svalbard GLOBAL SEED BANK, an ''ex situ'' conservation. ''Ex situ'' conservation literally means, "off-site conservation". It is the process of protecting an endangered species, variety or breed, of plant or animal outside its natural habitat; ...

, for reintroduction into the wild now that efforts to remove the invasive hibiscus have been successful. In 1970

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

made prints titled "Flowers" of the mandrinette with petals in different colours based on a photograph by the nature photographer Patricia Caulfield, published in the June 1964 issue of the magazine ''

Modern Photography ''Modern Photography'' was a popular American photo magazine published and internationally distributed for 52 years from New York City. An unrelated ''Modern Photography'' magazine was published in Taiwan from 1976. History ''Minicam'' The ori ...

''.

References

External links

The Mandrinette as seen by Andy Warhol
fragilis Endemic flora of Mauritius Critically endangered plants {{Hibisceae-stub