742 



HIBISCUS 



A. Annuals. 

 B. Plant low and diffuse. 



1 vesicarius,Cav.(J3'.^lfricdwMS,Hort.). FLOWER-OF- 

 AN-HOUR. BLADDER KETMIA. TRAILING HOLLYHOCK. 

 Fig. 1054. A foot or 2 high, bushy-spreading, the mam 

 branches becoming prostrate, usually hispid-hairy: Ivs. 

 3-5-parted, the upper ones 3-parted, with the middle 

 lobe much the largest, the lobes linear-oblong or some- 

 times widening upwards, coarsely notched, the root-lys. 

 undivided: fls. solitary in the upper axils, opening wide 

 in the sunshine 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. Afr.-An interesting annual, blooming 

 freely throughout the hot weather of summer, and thriv- 

 ing in any open, warm place. Seeds are usually sown 

 where the plants are to stand. Excellent for rockwork. 



2. Tridnum, Linn., to which the above species is usu- 

 ally referred, has much wider and more spatulate and 

 relatively shorter leaf -lobes, which are round-toothed or 

 lyrately lobed: fls. smaller. From S. Eu. and Afr. B. 

 M. 209. Sometimes a weed about cult, grounds. 



BB. Plant mostly tall, strict and stoiit. 



3. Sabdariffa, Linn. (H. Rosalia, Hort.). JA- 

 MAICA SORREL. ROSELLE. Strong, 5-7 ft. high, 

 nearly glabrous, the stems terete and reddish: 

 root-lvs. ovate and undivided, the upper ones 

 digitately 3-parted, the side lobes sometimes 

 again lobed ; lobes lanceolate-oblong and cre- 



nate dentate : fls. solitary and almost sessile in the 

 axils, much shorter than the long leaf-stalks ; calyx 

 and bracts red and thick, less than half the length of 

 the yellow corolla. Old World tropics. 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. Thrives in hot, dry 

 climates. 



4. esculentus, Linn. (Abelm6schus escuUntus, 

 Moench). OKRA. GUMBO. Mostly strict, 2-6 ft., the 

 stems terete and more or less hispid: Ivs. cordate in 

 outline, 3-5-lobed or divided, the lobes ovate-pointed 

 and coarsely toothed or notched: fls. solitary and axil- 

 lary, on inch-long peduncles, yellow, with a red center: 

 fr. a long ribbed pod (5-12 in. long), used in cookery. 

 Trop. Asia. For culture, etc., see Okra. A large-fld. 

 form ( var. speciosus, cf . H. Manihot} in Gt. 43, p. 623. 



AA. Perennial "kerbs, mostly grown as border plants. 



These plants are late summer and fall bloomers, 

 with hollyhock-like fls. They send up new, strong 

 shoots or canes each year. Many of them are perfectly 

 hardy in the N., but even these profit by a mulch 

 covering. Others are tender in the N., and the roots 

 should be taken up after frost and stored in a dry, 

 warm cellar. Keep them just moist enough to main- 

 tain life in them. Many times the roots of these her- 

 baceous species are set in large pots in the spring, 

 and they then make most excellent specimens. All the 

 species require a deep, rich soil and plenty of water. 



B. Foliage green and usually glabrous. 



5. Manihot, Linn. Tall and stout (3-9 ft.), glabrous 

 or hairy: Ivs. large, palmately or pedately 5-9 parted 

 into long and narrow oblong-lanceolate dentate lobes: 

 involucre bracts oblong-lanceolate, falling after a time 

 (as does the calyx) : fls. large (4-9 in. across), pale yellow 

 (sometimes white ) ,with a purple eye : capsule oblong and 

 hispid. Old World tropics, and spontaneous in S. states. 

 B.M. 1702; 3152 (Ivs. more cut). 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 horti- 

 culturists it is a perennial. 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). Botani- 



cally, the species is allied to H. esculentus. Not hardy in 

 the open in the North, but the roots may be taken up 

 in the fall and carried overwinter in a warm, dry cellar. 

 In the middle states and South, it may be expected to 

 survive if well mulched. Grows readily from seeds, 



HIBISCUS 



blooming late the first year if the seeds are started 

 under glass. 



6. aculeatus, Walt. Not very stout, 2-6 ft. tall, hispid 

 all over but not tomentose nor whitish: Ivs. roundish 



1055. Hibiscus Moscheutos (X 



or roundish-ovate in outline, 3-5-lobed or -parted, the 

 sinuses often rounded and enlarging, the lobes angled 

 or toothed and blunt : fls. 3-4 in. across, yellow, with 

 purple in the base. S. Car. south. Not hardy North. 



7. coccineus, Walt. (H. speciosus, Ait.). Green and 

 glabrous throughout, 3-4 ft.: Ivs. palmately lobed, or 

 the lowest and sometimes all of them palmately com- 

 pound, the divisions long-linear-lanceolate and remotely 

 toothed: fls. very large (5-6 in. across), rose-red, the 

 petals obovate and conspicuously narrowed at the base; 

 column of stamens very long. Ga. south. B.M. 360. 

 R.H. 1858, p. 575 ; 1866:230. -Not hardy North. Take 

 up roots and store in cellar. 



8. militaris, Cav. Four to 6 ft., strong-growing, 

 glabrous: Ivs. rather small, usually hastate (2 short 

 lobes at base), the middle lobe ovate lanceolate or tri- 

 angular-lanceolate, long-acuminate, equally crenate- 

 toothed: involucre scales linear or awl-like, nearly or 

 quite half as long as the calyx: fls. 3-5 in. across, white, 

 blush or pale rose, purple-eyed. Wet places, Pa. to 

 Minn, and south to the Gulf. B.M. 2385. -A hardy and 

 fine species. Forms occur with Ivs. net lobed. 



BB. Foliage soft-white-tomentose beneath and some- 



times on top. 

 C. Lvs. not lobed (or only slightly so). 



9. Moscheutos, Linn. (H.palustris, Linn.). Fig. 1055. 

 Strong-growing, 3-5 ft., the terete stem pubescent or 

 tomentose: Ivs. mostly ovate, entire in general outline 

 or sometimes shallowly 3-lobed at the top, blunt or cre- 

 nate-toothed, very soft-tomentose beneath but becoming 



