HIBISCUS 



HIBISCUS 



1485 



upward, coarsely notched, the root-lvs. undivided: 

 fls. solitary in the upper axils, opening wide in the sun- 

 shine but closing in shadow, 1-3 in. across, sulfur- 

 yellow or white, usually with a brown eye; pedicel 

 elongating in fr., and the calyx becoming much inflated. 

 Cent. .\fr. B.M. 209.— An 

 interesting annual, bloom- 

 ing freely throughout the 

 hot weather of summer, and 

 thriving in any open, warm 

 place. Seeds are usually 

 sown where the plants are 

 to stand. Excellent for rock- 

 work. It is sometimes a 

 weed in cult, grounds. H. 

 Trionum as sometimes de- 

 fined, has much wider and 

 more spatulate and rela^- 

 tively shorter If. - lobes, 

 which are round-toothed or 

 lyrately lobed: fls. smaller: 

 and in this case the above 

 description would apply to 

 H. vesicarius; but there 

 seems to be insufficient rea- 

 son for keeping the two 

 distinct. Var. major, Hort., 

 is offered: 2 ft.: fls. prim- 

 rose-yellow with deep violet 

 center. 



2. Sabdariffa, Linn. {H. 

 rosella, Hort.). J,\m.\ica 

 Sorrel. Roselle. Strong 

 annual, 5-7 ft. high, nearly 

 glabrous, the sts. terete and 

 reddish: root-lvs. ovate and 

 undivided, the upper ones 

 digitately 3-parted, the side 

 lobes sometimes again 

 lobed; lobes lanceolate-ob- 

 long and crenate-dentate: 

 fls. sohtary and almost 

 sessile in the axils, much 

 shorter than the long If.- 

 stalks; calyx and bracts red 

 and thick, less than half 

 the length of the yellow 

 corolla. Old World tropics. 

 Gn. 66, p. 428. — Widely cult, in the tropics, and now 

 grown somewhat in S. Fla. and S. Calif, for the fleshy 

 calyxes, which, when cooked, make an excellent sauce 

 or jelly with the flavor of cranberry. The green seed- 

 pod is not edible. The juice from the calyxes makes a 

 cooling acid drink. It thrives in hot, dry climates. 



3. cannabinus, Linn. Annual, or sometimes peren- 

 nial, the St. glabrous and prickly: lower Ivs. cordate 

 and not lobed, the upper deeply pahnately lobed into 

 narrow serrate parts: peduncle short: bract eoles 7-10, 

 narrow: fls. large, yellow with crimson center, on very 

 short axillary peduncles; sepals lanceolate, bristly, 

 with gland on back of each; corolla spreading: caps, 

 nearly globose, bristly. Old World, and widely grown 

 for a coarse fiber which is known as "Bimhpitam 

 jute." 



4. Abelmoschus, Linn. {Abelmdschus moschatus, 

 Moench). Annual or biennial, 2-6 ft., hispid: Ivs. 

 various, usually palmately 5-7 -lobed, the lobes spread- 

 ing and oblong-lanceolate and coarsely toothed: brac- 

 teoles 6-12, linear, ^in. or less long: fls. 4 ''n. diam., 

 yellow with crimson center; calyx 15-toothed: caps. 

 3 in. or less long, oblong-lanceolate in outline, setose. 

 India. — Grown in tropical countries for the musk- 

 scented seeds, which are also sometimes used medicin- 

 ally: also for the fls. Varies greatly, some of the forms 

 having no lobed Ivs. 



1830. Hibiscus Trionum. 



(X.'3) 



5. esculentus, Linn. (AbelmdschTis esculentus, 

 Moench). Okra. Gumbo. Annual: mostly strict, 

 2-6 ft. or more, the sts. terete and more or less hispid: 

 Ivs. cordate in outline, 3-5-lobed or divided, the lobes 

 ovate-pointed and coarsely toothed or notched: 

 bracteoles very narrow, about 1 in. long: fls. sohtary 

 and axillary, on inch-long peduncles, yellow, with a 

 red center: fr. a long ribbed pod (.5-12 in. long), used 

 in cookery. Trop. Asia. — For cult., see Okra. A large- 

 fld. form (var. speciosus, cf. H. Manihol) in Gt. 43, p. 

 623. 



6. Manihot, Linn. Fig. 1831. Tall and stout (3-9 ft.), 

 glabrous or somewhat hairy: Ivs. large, palmately or 

 pedately 5-9-parted into long and narrow oblong- 

 lanceolate dentate lobes: bracteoles oblong-lanceo- 

 late, falling after a time (as does the calyx): fls. 

 large (4-9 in. across), pale yellow (sometimes white), 

 with a purple eye, very show^-: caps, oblong and hispid. 

 China and Japan; widely spread in the tropics, and 

 naturalized in the southern states. B.M. 1702; 3152; 

 7752. S.H. 2:263.— This is apparently the Sunset 

 hibiscus of the trade; also the Queen of the Summer 

 hibiscus. In botanical works, H. Manihot is said to be 

 an annual, but as known to horticulturists it is peren- 

 nial in mild climates, although not persisting long and 

 making its best bloom on young plants. For a discussion 

 of this point as related to the limitations of the species, 

 see G. C. III. 22:249; Gn. 53, p. 127 (and plate 1157). 

 Botanically, the species is alUed to H. esculentus. Not 

 hardy in the open in the N., but the roots may be 

 taken up in the fall and carried over winter in a warm 

 dry cellar. In the Middle States and S., it may be 

 expected to survive if well mulched. Grows readily 

 from seeds, blooming late the first year if the seeds are 

 started under glass. Var. dissectus, Hort., has the Ivs. 

 cut almost to the petiole into narrow lobes. 



7. diversifolius, Jacq. Tail and rigid, herbaceous 

 or subshrubby, stiffly pubescent, the branches and 

 petioles bearing stout and short conical prickles: Ivs. 

 variable, mostly broad-cordate or nearly orbicular, 

 angular or somewhat 5-lobed, toothed: fls. in axillary 

 or terminal racemes, primrose-yellow with dark red 

 center; sepals linear-lanceolate, bristly; coroUa much 



V 



1831. Hibiscus Manihot. (XH) 



