HIBISCUS 



HIBISCUS 



743 



ijaearly or quite glabrous above, the long petiole often 

 lj joined to the peduncle: involucre bracts linear, nearly 

 : i)r quite as long as the tomentose calyx: Us. very large 

 [1(4-7-8 in. broad), light rose-color (or white in var. 

 \nlbus), with a purple eye: capsule glabrous. Marshes 

 ililong the coast from Mass, to Fla. and west to L. Michi- 

 gan. B.M. 882. B.R. 17:1463; 33:7. Mn. 2:161. Gng. 

 Ii:227. H. rbse^ls, Thore, of Europe, a rose-colored 



form, is considered to be a naturalized form of this 

 jA.merican species. R.H. 1879:10. -One of the best of 

 I .he Marsh Mallows, thriving in any good garden soil. Of 

 isasiest culture and perfectly hardy. Blooms in Aug. 

 jand Sept. The foliage is strong and effective. The 

 jtnost generally cultivated of the hardy herbaceous 

 jkinds. The form known as Crimson Eye (clear white 

 | with a crimson center) was introduced 1894 by Wm. F 

 ||Bassett & Son. It was found in a swamp in New Jersey. 

 JTbere is some question, however, as to whether it is 

 ispecifically the same as H. Moscheutos. The fls. are 

 ipure white (except the center), expand wide, and the 

 5lvs. are bronze-tinted. The carpels are more attenuate. 



10. incanus, Wendl. Much like H. Moscheutos, and 

 [sometimes passing for it in the trade: Ivs. smaller and. 



narrower, ovate-lanceolate, not lobed, serrate-toothed: 

 .'.fls. sulfur-yellow, with a crimson eye. S. Car. and south. 

 I Seems to be hardy in the North with a mulch protec- 

 ! tion. 



11. Calif6rnicus, Kell. Strong growing, 5 ft., the stem 

 i terete or slightly grooved above, more or less pubes- 

 cent: Ivs. distinctly cordate, ovate, shallow-toothed and 



?not lobed, dull ashy gray beneath : involucre bracts 

 hairy: coro''a white or rose, with a purple eye, 3-5 in. 

 across : capsule pubescent. Calif. Gray regards this 

 as a form of H. lasiocarpus, Cav. (var. occidenf.alis , 

 >,Gray). A portrait of H. lasiocarpus will be found in 

 ';G.F. 1:426. Although the nameZT. Californicus is com- 

 !<mon in the trade, it is a question howmuch of the stock, 

 idf any, is this species. Certainly some of it is H. Mos- 

 tcheutos. From H. Moscheutos this species is told by its 

 cordate ashy-tomentose Ivs. and hairy-ciliate involucre 

 bracts. The plant known to the trade as H. Californi- 

 cus is hardy. 



cc. Lvs. strongly lobed. 



12. grandifldrus, Michx. Tall and stout (3-8 ft.), the 

 terete reddish stem becoming glabrous: Ivs. large, 3- 

 lobed, the lobes ovate-acuminate or ovate-oblong-acu- 

 minate, the side ones widely spreading, blunt-toothed 

 or even again lobed: fls. very large (6-8 in. across), 

 white or rose, with deeper eye. Ga., Fla. \est. Aside 

 from the large fls. and lobed Ivs., this is very like H. 

 Moscheutos. It is doubtful if the true H. grandiflorus 

 is in the trade. 



AAA. Shrubs, hardy in the North (or in the middle 

 states). 



13. Syriacus, Linn. (Althwa friitex, Hort.)- SHRUBBY 

 ALTHEA. ROSE OF SHARON. Figs. 1056, 1057. Shrub, 

 6-12 ft. high, much branched, nearly or quite glabrous: 



Ivs. rather small, short-petioled, 

 strongly 3-ribbed, triangular- or 

 rhombic-ovate, mostly 3-lobed 

 and with many rounded teeth or 

 notches: fls. solitary in the axils 

 on the young wood (late in the 

 season), somewhat bell-shaped, 

 2-3 in. long, rose or purple, usu- 

 ally darker at the base : pod 

 short, splitting into 5 valves. 

 Asia. B.M. 83. R.H. 1845:133 

 (var. speciosus, with double fls.). 

 One of the commonest of orna- 

 mental shrubs, and hardy in On- 

 tario. It is immensely variable in 

 character of fls., the colors rang- 

 ing from blue-purple to violet- 

 red, flesh color and white ; also 

 full double forms. There are 

 forms with variegated Ivs. Col- 

 ored plates of some of the double-fld. forms will be 

 found in Gn. 52:1150. The species thrives in any good 

 . Prop, by seeds, by cuttings of ripened wood taken 

 in the fall, and named vars. by grafting on the common 



seedling stock. Nativity uncertain, but probably not 

 Syrian, as Linneeus supposed : probably native in 

 China. To this species belong such trade names as 

 H. purpureus, H. speciosus riiber, H. ranunculceflbrus, 

 H. totus dlbus, H. Leopoldii, H. pwoniflbrus , H. cceles- 

 tis, H. violaceus, H. anemonce fldriis, H. atrdrubens, 

 H. bicolor, H. camellceflbrus . H. elegantissimus, etc. 



14. Hamabo, Sieb. & Zucc. A Japanese species offered 

 by importers but not yet tested in this country, and 

 probably not hardy south of the southern-middle states : 

 6-10 ft. high, closely pubescent: Ivs. roundish, with an 

 abrupt short point, irregularly shallowly toothed, white 



1056. Capsule 

 of Hibiscus Syriacus. 



1057. Hibiscus Syriacus (X %). 



tomentose: involucre of scales united at the base: fls. 



solitary in the upper axils, large, yellow, with a darker 



base. 



AAAA. Shrubs of glasshouses, or permanently planted 



out in the far South. 

 B. Lvs. hoary beneath. 



15. elatus, Swartz (Paritium datum, G. Don). MOUN- 

 TAIN MAHOE. A West Indian tree, now introduced in 

 S. Calif.: Ivs. round -cord ate, short-cuspidate, entire; 



