PLATE 358. 
Hibiscus sukattensls, Limi (Fl. Cap. Vol I, p. 177). 
Natural Order, Malvaceae. 
A rambling plant with large siiowy flowers, -wdiicli are liglit yellow with a 
deep red velvety centre. Stems, l)ranclies, pednncles and petioles armed with 
hooked tuhercles, antl reversedly pil()se wdtli long w^hite hairs. Leaves varying 
fi'om deltoid-accuminate to 3-lohed, or 5-lobed, the lobes lanceolate and coarsely 
serrate in the larger ones, more finely so in the smaller : hispid on l^oth surfaces, 
veins prominent Ijeneath and tliose of the larger leaves armed witli hooked tuber- 
cles, petioles 1 to 3 inches or more long. Stipules l;)roadly semi-cordate, clasping 
the stem, their margins ciliate with long white hairs, otherwise glabrous : | to f 
inch long and -^vide. Flowers axillary, solitary, pedicels 1 to 2 inches long. 
Involucre of 10 spathulate leaflets (5 to S inches long, spreading horizontally, each 
having on its upper surface a subulate, erect appendage rising from the base of 
the lamina, and ciliate witli long wdiite hairs ; persistent. Calyx 5-lobed ; lobes 
deltoid-accuminate, connate nearly halfway from the l)ase, tube 10-ribbed, midvein 
and margins of lobes thickened, the whole external surface of tlie calyx clothed 
with long, erect, vdiite hairs, which spring from a tuljercular deep-red base. 
Corolla of 5 oblong petals which are connate at l^ase, margin entire, veiny, spread- 
ing to 2^ to inches, yellow with large very dark red blotch in centre, its 
margin irregular in outline. Staminal column connate with petals at base, and 
covering the ovary, 5-toothed at apex ; stamens many, on surface of the cobunn ; 
anthers 1-celled, staminal coliunn and free portion of the filaments red and 
cl(Mhed with minute glands. Style projecting be^'ond apex of staminal cohnnn, 
5-cleft at apex, its lobes reflexecl. Stigmas capitate, pink ; ovary 5-celled, cells 
many ovuled, covered with irritant hairs. Capsule 5-celled, enclosed in the per- 
sistent calyx, loculicidal. 
Habitat: Natal: Coast districts. Wood. 
A not unco]unjon weed in coast districts, the flowers are large and handsome, 
but the h(joked prickles with which it is so plentifully supplied, make it an 
unpleasant plant to handle. The leaflets of the involucre are very singular, and 
the Flora Capensis says of them : " The curious form of involucral leaflets which 
mark these tAvo species {E. furcatu.^ and H. surattensis) may be referred to what 
is called " deduplication " and its occurrence in Malvaceae, where the stamens (as 
Dr. Gray has alfly shown) are developed in a similar way, is not without signi- 
ficance." 
Fig. 1, involucel and capsule, cal3"x removed; 2, calyx opened ; 3, scale of 
involucel ; 4, staminal colmmi ; 5, stamen ; 6, style and stigmas ; 7, cross section 
of ovary ; except Jig. 1 and 2, all enl(irged. 
