4 HIBISCUS COCCINEUS. AMERICAN SCARLET ROSE-MALLOW. 



it in the gardens of Tennessee, in common garden borders, and 

 in comparatively dry situations. Even in the cooler North it 

 does well, as shown by the specimen from which our drawing 

 was made. This specimen came from the Botanic Garden of 

 Harvard University, at Cambridge, Mass., and was kindly fur- 

 nished by Prof. Sargent. Some of the English writers com- 

 plain that the plant docs not ripen its seed w^ell in their country ; 

 but the summers in all parts of our own territory (except 

 Alaska) are probably warm enough for the production of ripe 

 seed. The sister species of our plant, the Hibiscus Rosa-Siiicnsis 

 of our gardens, has yielded many varieties, — yellow, orange, 

 crimson, and other hues, — besides double as well as single flow- 

 ers, and if similar attention were shown to //. coccineus, the 

 florists would no doubt be rewarded by similar results. 



There are no special medical virtues attributed to our species, 

 nor is it of any known use in the arts, although, doubtless, it 

 has some useful qualities in common with other species of the 

 same genus. In China, the ladies, instead of priding them- 

 selves on the whiteness of their teeth, color them black, and the 

 dye which they employ for this purpose is said to be made from 

 the petals of the Rose Hibiscus. In all probability the petals 

 of our Scarlet Hibiscus possess the same property, and when 

 the Chinese have become numerous enough in America to cre- 

 ate a sufficient demand, some enterprising business man may 

 perhaps put this hint to practical use by establishing a " tooth- 

 dye " manufactory. 



According to Dr. Chapman, the Scarlet Hibiscus grows in 

 " deep marshes near the coast, Florida, Georgia, and westward." 



Explanation of the Plate. — i. Fully developed flower. — 2. Outline of leaf much 

 reduced. — 3. Half-mature capsule with the involucre. 



