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

Zambia: 38 taxa.

The larvae of the following species of insect eat species of this genus:
Abantis paradisea (Paradise skipper)
Filodes costivitralis (Window pearl)
Hibiscus praeteritus

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

SpeciesFZ divisionsProvincesContent
acetosella Welw. ex HiernWNwImage
allenii Sprague & Hutch.B,SS,WDescription, Image
articulatus Hochst. ex A. Rich.C,E,SE,C,Lk,SDescription, Image
caesius GarckeB,C,SLk,S,WDescription, Image
calyphyllus Cav.Image
cannabinus L.B,N,W,C,E,SCb,N,E,Lk,S,WDescription, Image
debeerstii De Wild. & T. DurandNN
diversifolius Jacq. subsp. rivularis (Bremek. & Oberm.) ExellN,C,SLp,Lk,S,WDescription, Image
dongolensis DelileSSDescription, Image
fuscus Garcke
hiernianus Exell & Mendonça WCb
lobatus (Murray) KuntzeN,W,E,SCb,Lp,E,Lk,SDescription, Image
ludwigii Eckl. & Zeyh.NDescription, Image
mastersianus HiernN,C,SN,Lk,S
mechowii Garcke B,N,SN,S,W
micranthus L.f.SDescription, Image
migeodii ExellNDescription, Image
mutatus N.E.Br.Description, Image
nigricaulis BakerN,W,C,SCb,Lp,Lk,SDescription, Image
noldeae Baker f.
nyikensis Sprague N
ovalifolius (Forssk.) VahlN,W,CCb,N,LkDescription, Image
panduriformis Burm. f.C,SC,SDescription, Image
physaloides Guill. & Perr.N,EN,EDescription, Image
platycalyx Mast.
praeteritus R.A. DyerSDescription, Image
rhabdotospermus GarckeImage
rhodanthus GürkeB,N,W,C,E,SDescription, Image
richardsiae Exell N
rostellatus Guill. & Perr.
sabdariffa L.B,SNw,S
schinzii GürkeBWDescription, Image
seineri Ulbr. ex Engl.
shirensis Sprague & Hutch.N,WCb,LpDescription, Image
sidiformis Baill.SSDescription, Image
surattensis L.N,SLp,Lk,SDescription, Image
trionum L.SSDescription, Image
vitifolius L. subsp. vitifolius E,SE,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 Zimbabwe: 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: Mike Bingham, Annette Willemen, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Mark Hyde, 2011-24

Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2024). Flora of Zambia: Genus page: Hibiscus.
https://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=942, retrieved 19 March 2024

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