Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis (known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant) is a cultigen of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibiscus genus and Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is an artificial hybrid created in cultivation during the pre-Columbian era by Polynesians in the west Pacific from the species Hibiscus cooperi and H. kaute (native to Vanuatu and French Polynesia, respectively). It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics. The hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia, where it holds official status, and is also considered the unofficial national flower of Haiti.
Description
Tree and leaves Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis is a bushy, evergreen shrub or small tree growing 2.5–5 m (8–16 ft) tall and 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) wide. The plant has a branched taproot. Its stem is aerial, erect, bark is light-grey, green easy to peel and smooth cylindrical, and branched. Its leaves are simple and petiolate, with alternate phyllotaxy. The leaf shape is ovate while the tip is acute, and the margin is serrated. Venation is unicostate reticulate, meaning the leaves' veins are branched or divergent. Their surfaces are 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 10 cm (4 in) in diameter, with prominent orange-tipped red anthers. 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. At the bottom of every bud is the calyx, which is green in color. The pointed ends of the calyx are called the sepals. When the flower begins to bloom, the petals begin to grow. Each flower has both male and female parts. The ovary and other female parts of the flower lie in its main structure: the pistil, which is long and tubular. The five "hairy" spots at the top of the pistil make up the stigma, which is where pollen 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; each flower has only one superior ovary. The male part of the flower, called the stamen, consists of stem-like filaments and anthers. Each filament ends with the pollen-producing anther.
Taxonomy Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis was first described as a species in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum. His description was based on specimens with double bright red flowers in cultivation in the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. 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 Hibisceae and the subfamily Malvoideae of the family Malvaceae. In parts of the Southeastern U.S., the Hibiscus mutabilis colloquially known as the Confederate rose, despite not being native nor a rose.
Genetics Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis is one of many plants with a genetic characteristic known as polyploidy, a condition in which there are more than two complete sets of chromosomes. A result of polyploidy is that the phenotype 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.. The plant is known as easy to propagate.
Origin The origin of the species has long been unknown; it has never been found out of cultivation. A study in 2024 based on molecular and morphological data showed that it is a hybrid created in cultivation by Polynesians through a cross between Hibiscus cooperi and Hibiscus kaute. The parent species were originally from Vanuatu and Tahiti respectively. The natural distributions of the parents are more than 4,000 km (2,500 miles) apart. H. kaute was important in Polynesian culture and medicine, which appears to have led to it being taken across the south Pacific as canoe plants via traditional Polynesian seafaring, where it eventually hybridized with H. cooperi.
Ecology
Despite its size and colorful hues which are typically attractive to nectarivore birds, the flowers of Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis are not visited regularly by hummingbirds when grown in the Neotropics. Generalist species, like the sapphire-spangled emerald (Amazilia lactea), or long-billed species, like the stripe-breasted starthroat (Heliomaster squamosus) are occasionally seen to visit the flowers. In the subtropical and temperate Americas, hummingbirds are regularly attracted to hibiscus. The endangered Papilio homerus butterfly, the largest in the western hemisphere, is known to feed on the nectar of H. × rosa-sinensis.
Cultivation
Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis is widely grown as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics and subtropics. As it does not tolerate temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F), in temperate 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 cultivars 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's Award of Garden Merit.
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