5013.000 Hibiscus L.

Description of the genus

Annual, biennial or perennial herbs or shrubs. Leaves simple and palmately lobed or digitately compound. Flowers usually solitary and axillary, but often forming terminal inflorescences by reduction of the upper leaves, yellow with a dark centre or red, pink, purplish or white. Epicalyx of 5-20 bracts, rarely 0. Calyx with 5 lobes or (rarely) 5-10 teeth. Ovary 4-5-locular; each loculus with 3-many ovules. Style 5-branched. Fruit a loculicidally dehiscent capsule.

Derivation of name: Greek name for the marsh mallow

Worldwide: c.300 species occurring in warm temperate and tropical areas of the world

Zimbabwe: 44 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Abantis paradisea (Paradise skipper) Larval foodplant
Filodes costivitralis (Window pearl) Larval food plant
Hibiscus cannabinus

Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesFZ divisionsContent
acetosella Welw. ex HiernCImage
aethiopicus L. var. ovatus Harv.W,C,EDescription, Image
allenii Sprague & Hutch.N,W,C,EDescription, Image
altissimus HornbyEDescription, Image
articulatus Hochst. ex A. Rich.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
burtt-davyi Dunkley[NrEnd]EDescription, Image
caesius GarckeN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
cannabinus L.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
coddii ExellS
diversifolius Jacq. subsp. rivularis (Bremek. & Oberm.) ExellN,W,EDescription, Image
dongolensis DelileN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
engleri K. Schum.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
fuscus GarckeE
gwandensis Exell[End][LR-nt]S
kirkii Mast.N,W,C,E,S
lobatus (Murray) KuntzeN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
ludwigii Eckl. & Zeyh.EDescription, Image
lunarifolius Willd.N,W,C,EDescription, Image
malacospermus (Turcz.) E. Mey.W,C
mastersianus HiernN,W,C,E,S
meyeri Harv. subsp. transvaalensis (Exell) ExellS
micranthus L.f.N,W,E,SDescription, Image
mutabilis L.N,C,S
mutatus N.E.Br.W,C,SDescription, Image
nigricaulis BakerN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
ovalifolius (Forssk.) VahlN,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
palmatus Forssk.N,W,E
panduriformis Burm. f.N,C,E,SDescription, Image
physaloides Guill. & Perr.N,E,SDescription, Image
praeteritus R.A. DyerW,C,EDescription, Image
pusillus Thunb.W,C,E,SDescription, Image
rhabdotospermus GarckeN,EImage
rhodanthus GürkeN,CDescription, Image
rupicola Exell[NrEnd]S
sabdariffa L.N,S
sabiensis ExellE
schinzii GürkeW,C,E,SDescription, Image
seineri Ulbr. ex Engl.N,W,E,S
shirensis Sprague & Hutch.N,EDescription, Image
sidiformis Baill.N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
subreniformis Burtt DavyW
surattensis L.N,W,E,SDescription, Image
trionum L.W,C,E,SDescription, Image
vitifolius L. subsp. vitifolius N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image

Other sources of information about Hibiscus:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Hibiscus
Flora of Caprivi: Hibiscus
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Hibiscus
Flora of Malawi: Hibiscus
Flora of Mozambique: Hibiscus
Flora of Mozambique: cultivated Hibiscus
Flora of Zambia: Hibiscus
Flora of Zimbabwe: cultivated Hibiscus

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Hibiscus
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Hibiscus
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Hibiscus
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Hibiscus
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Hibiscus
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Hibiscus
JSTOR Plant Science: Hibiscus
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Hibiscus
Plants of the World Online: Hibiscus
Tropicos: Hibiscus
Wikipedia: Hibiscus

Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Genus page: Hibiscus.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=942, retrieved 19 March 2024

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