STANDLEY TREES AND SHRUBS OF MEXICO. 779 



flowers axillary ; bractlets about 3 mm. wide ; calyx 1 cm. long, strigose, the 

 lobes rounded at the apex ; petals 2 cm. long, stellate-hispidulous ; stamen 

 column exserted ; capsule strigose or glabrate. 



5. Hibiscus spiralis Cav. Icon. PI. 2: 47. pi. 162. 1793. 



State of Mexico and probably elsewhere; described from plants cultivated 

 at Madrid. 



Shrub, the branches soon glabrate ; leaves lanceolate or ovate, 1.5 to 3 cm. 

 long, acute, coarsely crenate-serrate, thinly and minutely stellate-pubescent ; 

 calyx about 12 mm. long ; petals 2 to 2.5 cm. long ; stamen column exserted ; 

 capsule strigose. 



6. Hibiscus tubiflorus DC. Prodr. 1: 447. 1824. 



Abelmoschus achanioides Turcz. Bull. Soc. Nat. Moscou 31*: 196. 1858. 



Hibiscus achanioides Hemsl. Biol. Centr. Amer. Bot. 1: 121. 1879. 



Tamaulipas to Yucatdn, Tabasco, and Chiapas. Southern Florida, West 

 Indies, and Guatemala. 



Slender shrub ; leaves deltoid-lanceolate or deltoid-ovate, 2 to 5 cm. long, 

 acute or obtuse, coarsely crenate-dentate, thinly stellate-hispid ; calyx 6 to 15 

 mm. long ; petals 2.5 to 3.5 cm. long ; stamens slightly or not at all exserted ; 

 capsule stellate-hispidulous. "Hoi," " xtupkinil " (Yucatan, Maya); " mona- 

 cillo del rio " (Mexico, Urhina). 



7. Hibiscus sabdarifPa L. Sp. PI. 695. 1753. 



Cultivated in Mexico and doubtless also growing without cultivation. Native 

 of the East Indies ; often cultivated and naturalized in tropical America. 



Slender shrub or herb, 1 to 2 meters high, with red glabrous stems ; leaves 

 deeply 3 or 5-lobate, the lobes serrulate, the costa bearing a large gland be- 

 neath near the base ; calyx 2 cm. long ; petals 4 to 5 cm. long, pink or purplish ; 

 capsule strigose. "Jamaica," " flor de Jamaica" (Mexico); "viiia," " agrio 

 de Guinea" (Porto liico). 



The English names are " roselle " and " Jamaica sorrel." The plant is often 

 cultivated for the fleshy red calyces, which are mucilaginous, with acid flavor, 

 and are used in the preparation of jellies and sauces. The leaves also are 

 sometimes used for flavoring food. In India the plant is of importance be- 

 cause of the fiber of the stems, which is separated by retting and employed 

 for cordage. The seeds are said to liave demulcent, diuretic, and tonic prop- 

 erties, and the calyces are employed in the preparation of cooling beverages 

 for fever patients.* 



8. Hibiscus tiliaceus L. Sp. PI. 694. 1753. 



Hibiscus elatus Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 103. 1788. 



Hibiscus azanzae DC. Prodr. 1: 454. 1824. 



Hibiscus bracteosus DC. Prodr. 1: 455. 1824. 



Paritium tiliaccum Juss. ; St. Hil. Fl. Bras. Merid. 1: 198. 1825. 



On seacoasts, Tepic to Oaxaca ; reported from Veracruz. Widely distributed 

 in tropical regions. 



Shrub or small tree, usually 2 to 5 meters high, with large stipules; leaves 

 ovate-cordate to reniform-cordate, 6 to 18 cm. long, abruptly short-acuminate, 

 entire or nearly so, green above, pale beneath and stellate-tomentulose ; calyx 

 2 to 2.5 cm. long ; petals yellow, turning greenish when dry, 6 to 7 cm. long ; 

 capsule densely pubescent. " Hol6," " xtolo " (YucatS-n, Maya); " majahua," 

 " majagua," " masahua," "mazahua" (Oaxaca, Veracruz, Guerrero, Venezuela, 



* See P. J. Wester, Contributions to the history and bibliography of the 

 roselle, Bull. Torrey Club 38: 91-98. 1911. 



