344 XXVI. MALVACEffi. (Maxwell T. Masters.) [Hibiscus. 



H. TEIC0SPIS, JBanks in Cav. Diss. iii. t. 55, f. 2 ; arboreous, leaves 

 3-lobed glandular beneath. DC. Prodr. i. 453 ; Roxh. Fl. Ind. iii 202 ; 

 Wall. Gat. 1914 B. Paritium tricuspe, <?. Bon, Gm.Syst. i. 485; W. & A. 

 Prodr. i. 52. 



Cultivated in Nokth-West India and Bengal (introduced from the Society isles, 

 Soxhurgh) . 



Tree, herbaceous portions covered with stellate white down. Leaves 4-5 by 3 in., 

 glabrescent above, hoary-pubescent beneath, base cuneate or cordate, lobes lanceolate, 

 slightly lobed; petiole 24-3 in. Stipules ovate. Peduncles terminal, racemose. 

 Bracteoles deciduous, ovate, leafy, half the length of the linear-lanceolate sepals. Co- 

 rolla yellow with a purple base. Capsule spuriously 10-celled. — Eoxbnrgh describes 

 calyx and epicalyx as ten-parted, but this is probably an error. 



H. EOSA SINENSIS, L. ; JDG. Prodr. i. 448 ; shrubby, leaves ovate acu- 

 minate nearly glabrous, peduncles axillary, as long or longer than the 

 adjoining leaf, staminal tube exceeding the corolla. Gav. Diss. iii. t. 69, f. 2 ; 

 Roxh. Fl. Ind. iii. 194; Wall. Gat. 1890 '&to'P.;W.& A. Prodn: i. 49 ; 

 Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. i. pt. 2, Ib&.—Rheede, Sort. Mai. ii. t. 17, aiui vi. t. 43. 



Cultivated in gardens throughout India. 



Stem woody, branched, not prickly. Leaves entire at the base, coarsely toothed at 

 the apex. Stipules ensiform. Bracteoles 6, 7, linear, half the length of the bell-shaped 

 calyx. SepaU f in., lanceolate, connate below the middle. Corolla 3 in. diam., red. 

 Capsule roundish, many-seeded (Loureiro). — There are numerous varieties differing in 

 colour, duplication, &c. The flowers are used to black shoes. Roxburgh says it is 

 wild in Hindostan, but I have seen no wild specimens. Wight and Arnott suggest 

 that the plant should be placed in section Bombicella, but the seeds are not known, 

 and the habit is more that of the section Ketmia. 



There is a plant in herbaria from Griffith and others, to which the manuscript names 

 of H. lUiifiorus (not of DC), and of H. Amotti (not of Gray), are attached. It appears 

 identical with Wallich's 1890 D, described in Wall. Cat. I.e. as a hybrid plant intro- 

 duced to the Calcutta garden from Mauritius and said to be a form of W. rosa sinensis. 



H. MUTABiLis, L. ; DG. Prodr. i. 452 ; arborescent, leaves downy 

 5-angled, peduncles axillary nearly as long as the leaf, bracteoles 10 linear 

 nearly distinct. Gav. Diss. iii. t. 62, f. 1 ; Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 201 ; W. d: A. 

 Prodr. i. 51 ; Wall. Gat. 1907, 1, 2, 3, D to G ; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. i. pt. 2, 158. 

 H. Eestuans, Roitler in Herb. — Rheede Hort. Mai. vL 38-42. 



Cultivated in gardens, native of China [Roxburgh). 



A small tree without prickles. Leaves 4 in. diam., cordate, toothed ; petiole 3 in. 

 Peduncle 4-5 in., jointed near the top. Bracts shorter than the calyx. Flowers 3-4 

 in. diam. " Sepals ovate-lanceolat*, connate below the middle. Corolla white or pink 

 on first opening in the morning, deep red by night. Capsule globose, flattened, hairy. 

 Seeds renifoi-m, hispid. — ^In Dr. Brandis' herbarium there is a specimen from Martaban, 

 labelled H. venustus, Blume (Bijdr. 71), which diflers from the Indian specimens of 

 S. mutahilis in its more tomentose pubescence and hirsute seeds ; Blume's .plant, more- 

 over, is said to have 5 bracteoles, but there are more than 5 in the Martaban plants. 



H. SYRIACUS, L. ; DG. Prodr. i. 448 ; shrubby, leaves cuneiform ovate 

 3-lobed dentate, peduncle axillary as long as the petiole, bracteoles linear 

 half the length of the calyx. Gav. Diss. iii. t. 69, f. 1 ; Roxb. Fl. Ind. iii. 

 195 ; Wall. Gat. 1891 ; Miq. Fl. Ind. Bat. i. pt. 2, 167. H. rhombifolius, 

 Gav. Diss. t. 69, ex Roxb. 



Cultivated throughout India and in China. 



Branches destitute of prickles. Leaves 2 in., nearly or quite glabrous ; petiole short. 

 Peduncle shorter than the petiole. Bracteoles 6-7, linear. Sepals ovate-lanceolate, 

 longer than the bracteoles. Petals obovate, longer than the calyx. Anthers in whorls 

 all the way up the column. Capsule oblong, obtuse, slightly hispid. Seeds pilose. 



