142 



THE DICTIONARY OF GARDENING, 



Hibiscus continued. 



or hardy herbs, shrubs, or trees, natives, for the most 

 part, of tropical regions, but occurring also in temperate 

 ones. Flowers variable in colour, and usually showy. 

 Leaves variable, often partite. 



Cultivation. Stove or warm greenhouse species of 

 Hibiscus succeed best either in large pots or when planted 

 out. A compost of peat and fibry loam, not broken too 

 finely, in about equal proportions, with the addition of a 

 little charcoal or sand, will suit them admirably. Those 

 grown for their flowers should be rested, and kept tolerably 

 dry, throughout the winter. In spring, they require a 

 little cutting in, and starting in a brisk, moist heat ; 

 afterwards applying plenty of heat and water through- 

 out the summer. Some of the species, which succeed in 

 a greenhouse all the summer, will require warmer quarters 

 in winter. They are propagated from seed, and by 

 cuttings, inserted in a close frame, in spring. H. r.-s. 

 Cooperi is a free-growing plant, with ornamental foliage, 

 requiring the same treatment in winter as other stove 

 subjects. The hardy species succeed in ordinary garden 

 soil, preferably in that which is sandy, and in a warm 

 position. H. Trionum may be readily increased from seeds. 

 H. africanus (African). A synonym of H. Trionum. 

 H. Cameron! (Cameron's). /. rosy ; calyx large, inflated, five- 

 lobed ; petals obliquely cuneate-truncate, with a crimson blotch 

 at the base of each. June and July. I. cordate, five-lobed, 

 coarsely serrated ; lobes acute, constricted at base. h. 1ft. Mada- 

 gascar, 1837. Stove shrub. (B. M. 3936.) 



H. cocclnens (scarlet).* fl. bright scarlet. July and August. 

 1. long-stalked, five-parted ; lobes lanceolate, remotely toothed, 

 with entire tips. h. 4ft. to 8ft. Marshes of Florida and Georgia. 

 Greenhouse perennial. See Fig. 225. (B. M. 360, under name of 

 H. speciosus.) 



H. clatus (tall), fl. purplish-copper colour, large ; peduncles very 

 short, one-flowered; involucre ten-cleft. I. roundish-cordate, 

 quite entire, downy- white beneath, h. 50ft. West Indies, 1790. 

 Stove. "Cuba Bast " is formed from the inner bark of this tree. 

 SYN. Paratium elatum. 



H. ferox (fierce), fl. yellow ; calyx pentagonal, hispid, inflated in 

 front ; peduncles axillary, twin, one-flowered. May to July. 

 I. large, shining, cordate, five to seven-lobed, villous beneath ; 

 stipules cordate, acuminate, h. 3ft. New Grenada, 1844. 

 A prickly stove shrub. (B. M. 4401.) 



H. Huegelii quinquevulnerus (Baron Huegel's five-spotted). 

 A very handsome variety, with deep rose petals, paler below, and 

 each petal having a black blood-coloured spot on the claw. 

 August. Swan Biver, 1853. Greenhouse. 



H. marmoratns (marbled).* fl. 2jin. long, and as wide across the 

 petals ; peduncles solitary, axillary, stiff, much longer than the 

 petioles, articulate above the middle ; calyx tubular-campanulate, 

 five-cleft almost to the middle ; petals white, reticulately 

 mottled with bright rose-pink, longer than the calyx, convolute 

 into a tube below, spreading above ; stamina! column slender, 

 exserted. February. I. on rather short petioles, variable in 

 shape, bluntly toothed, dark green on the upper surface, paler 

 below, Sin. to 4in. long, 2in. to 4in. broad. Mexico, 1854. Green- 

 house shrub. (B. M. 5702.) 



H. militaris (military).* fl. rose-coloured ; pedicels axillary, free 

 from the petioles, one-flowered, and jointed above the middle. 

 Summer. I. cordate, toothed, somewhat three-lobed, downy 

 beneath, h. 2ft. to 4ft. United States. Hardy perennial. 



H. Moscheutos (Moscheutos). fl. white, with a purplish 

 centre, or sometimes pale purple, large ; petioles and peduncles 

 joined together; involucres and calyces downy. Summer. I. 

 ovate, acuminated, serrated, downy beneath, h. 3ft. North 

 America. Hardy. (S. B. F. G. 286.) 



H. pednnculatns (pedunculate), fl. deep rosy-red, showy, cam- 

 panulate ; petals cuneate-oblong, rounded at the apex ; involucre 

 of about eight linear segments. I. three-lobed, the lobes blunt, 

 with toothed margins. Stems hairy. Natal. A. 2ft. to 4ft 

 Greenhouse shrub. (B. R. 231.) 



H. radiatns (rayed), fl. axillary, solitary, short-peduncled, very 

 larg_e ; the exterior two-thirds of the petals yellow, and spreading 

 horizontally ; the inner third deep crimson, and formed into a 

 bell. Summer. 1. alternate, palmate, rarely simple; petioles 

 armed, and nearly as long as the leaves. Branches armed with 

 small prickles. India and Java. Stove shrub. H. r. flore-pur- 

 pureo is a variety having fine rose-purple flowers. (B. M. 5098.) 

 H. Lindlei (B. B. 1395), another with deep purple corollas. 



H. rosa-sinensis (Chinese Rose).* fl. varied in colouration, 

 large, single, semi or wholly double ; pedicels length of leaves ; 

 involucre seven-leaved. Summer. 1. ovate, acuminated, smooth, 

 entire at the base, but coarsely toothed at the apex. Stem 

 unarmed, arboreous. A. 10ft. to 15ft. China, Japan, &c., 1731; 



Hibiscus continued. 



FIG. 226. FLOWEBING BRANCH OF HIBISCUS ROSA-SINENSIS. 



cultivated for ornament throughout all tropical regions. Stove. 

 See Fig. 226. Of the numerous varieties in cultivation, the follow- 

 ing are the most noteworthy and desirable. 



H. r.-s. brilliantissimum (very brilliant), fl. 5iin. across, spread- 

 ing, almost flat, but having a short funnel-shaped base_, formed by 

 the convergence of the bases of the petals, which are in that part 

 stained with a deeper crimson, and overlapping each other so that 

 they form a circular flower. 



H. r.-S. Callerii (Caller's), fl. buff-yellow, with a crimson- 

 scarlet base. A very distinct and remarkable variety, with general 

 character and habit of type. 



H. r.-s. Cooperi (Cooper's).* fl. scarlet. L irregularly ovate- 

 lanceolate, cuneate at the base, bluntly serrated, vivid green, 

 splashed and blotched with dark olive-green, creamy-white, and 

 crimson, and margined with a broad and irregularly feathery 

 border of reddish-carmine. 



H. r.-s. fulgldus (shining).* fl, 5in. in diameter, of fine broad, 

 rounded, and beautifully undulated petals, of an intense carmine- 

 scarlet, paler and somewhat rosy tinted towards the base, where 

 on each petal is an oblong blotch of deep crimson. L broadly, 

 ovate, serrated. 



FIG. 227. FLOWERING BRANCH OF HIBISCUS ROSEUS. 



