''Hibiscus lasiocarpos'' (also, ''H. lasiocarpus'' ''orth. var.'') is a species of

hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species ...

known by the common name hairy-fruited hibiscus. It is also one of several hibiscus called rosemallow. It is native to much of the southeastern United States, as well as parts of

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and northern Mexico. It is a large, bushy perennial herb with sprawling stems reaching one to two meters long. The leaves are heart-shaped, toothed, and pointed, and generally between 6 and 10 centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

holds large showy, solitary flowers. Each flower has a cup of partly fused

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s beneath a layer of slender

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. These may be covered in hairs or woolly fibers. The flower's large petals may be up to 10 centimeters long and are generally bright white with red bases. 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 ...

tube and anthers are white or cream. The fruit is a capsule 2.5–3 centimeters long containing spherical seeds.Jepson Manual Treatment
/ref>

References

External links

USDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
* * pp. 159–160 and plate LXX lasiocarpos {{Hibisceae-stub