3S7 



HIBISCUS Rosa malabarica, 



The Malabar Rose Hibiscus* 



MONADELPHIA POLY^yDRIA. 



Nat. ord. Malvacejb. Jussteu gen. 271. Div. HI. Staniuia indefi- 

 nita. Fructus simplex multilocularis. 



HIBISCUS. Suprdvol. \.foL29. 



H. Rosa malabarica, foliis cordatis, acute serratis; ramls subhirtla; caule 



^ fruttcoso. Kcenig in apecimine arcketvpo herb, banks, asservato. 

 Hibiscus phoeniceus. Roxburgh MSS. tn iched. banks, cum tab.; (non aliO' 

 rum. J 



Suryatniuii (or gem of the sun). Sanscrit. 

 Sjamin. Rheede mal. 10. 1. tab. 1. 



iff) Hibiscus hirtus. Lin. sp. pi. ed. 2. 2. 977- Cav. diss. S. 156. /. 67. 

 Hibiscus pliceniceus; 0. hirtus. (Exclusa varietate a, supri in vol. S.Jbl. 2S0. 

 data.J 



Alcea frutloosa malabariensis^ angustJs foliis rigid iuxcul is, floribus amoend 

 rubellis, semine papppso. Pluk. aim. 14. t. 25^._fig. 3. 

 Frutex (hirtiusculus) toWhcordatiSy serratis, acutis, viUosis; stipuHs «(&• 



tilatis; pedunculis axillaribus, solUariis, unijloris (non articulatis nob.) t 



foliolis calucinis esierioribus 5-6; antheris verticUlalts; capsulis globotist 



feminibus tavalis. Variatjlore albo. Roxb. loc. cit. 



Clearly a very distinct species from the Hibiscus phoe- 

 niceus of the younger Linnaeus and Jacquin, published in the 

 third volume of this work, fol. 230; although probably a 

 mere variety of the Hibiscus hirtus of the elder Linnseus, 

 incautiously subjoined by Willdenow to phceniceus as the va- 

 riety /3. In pkceniceus the peduncles are jointed, and the 

 upper part is thicker than the lower; which is not the case 

 here. The leaflets of the inner calyx are there membranous, 

 rather smooth, and three times broader than in our plant, 

 where they are herbaceous and roughly furred. Phoeniceus is 

 altogether a much slenderer plant, not so conspicuously nor 

 stiffly furred as the present; and we suspect that it is not 

 even an East-Indian vegetable. Jacquin's specimen is pre- 

 served in the Banksian Herbarium, and is evidently of a 

 distinct species from the three other specimens from three 

 distant parts of India preserved in the same place under one 

 name ; and which appear all to be of the species of our plant. 

 Probably Jacquin's plant is really South-American, as he 

 asserts. 



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