Roselle. 
By P. J. Wester. 
Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen: 
Of the smaller fruits that have been 
introduced into the State for a compar- 
tively long time, none, with its seeming 
commercial possibilities, have been more 
neglected than roselle ( Hibiscus sab- 
dariffa ), also known under the name of 
Jamaica sorrel. Even as a household 
plant, it is not, considering the ease with 
which it is cultivated, grown as widely 
as it deserves. At the Subtropical Lab¬ 
oratory we have paid particular attention 
to the cultivation of this plant for nearly 
four years, and on receiving an invita¬ 
tion from the President of the Society to 
deliver an address at this meeting, I se¬ 
lected this as a timely subject, so much 
the more as during the existence of the 
Society only once, in 1899, if I am rightly 
informed, has the attention of the mem¬ 
bers been called to the roselle. This pa¬ 
per is Farmers’ Bulletin No. 307 con¬ 
densed, where the subject is more fully 
treated, with such additional data as have 
been obtained since that bulletin was 
written. 
As those of you who are acquainted 
with roselle know, the plant is an an¬ 
nual and resembles somewhat the cotton 
plant in habit, attaining a height of from 
five to seven feet, with about a like 
spread, under favorable conditions. Its 
large, red-eyed yellow flowers indicate 
its relationship to the okra, the various 
species of ornamental hibiscus and the 
cotton plant. It is indigenous to the Old 
World tropics, but is now probably dis¬ 
seminated to all the tropical and subtrop¬ 
ical countries. Some twenty or more 
years ago the roselle was introduced into 
Florida, the name Jamaica sorrel being 
probably an indication that the plant was 
introduced from Jamaica. 
Keeping in mind that lands subjected 
to flooding and insufficiently drained 
lands should be avoided, as well as lands 
infested with the rootknot nematode 
(Heterodera radicicola ) to which the 
plant is very much subject, the roselle 
seems to thrive on any of our Florida 
soils that are moderately rich or sup¬ 
plied with the necessary plant food in 
the form of commercial fertilizer. If sta¬ 
ble manure is used it should be supple¬ 
mented with phosphates and fertilizers 
that contain potash, as an excess of am¬ 
monia in the soil tends to the develop¬ 
ment of large plants at the expense of 
their productiveness. 
The plants may be started in a seed¬ 
bed in the spring and planted out in the 
field similarly to tomatoes, or the seeds 
may be planted in the hills where they 
are to remain and thinned out to one 
plant to a hill. The rows should be 
from six to ten feet apart and the plants 
set out four to eight feet apart in the 
row according to the fertility of the 
land and the supply of moisture. In our 
experience a mixture similar to tomato 
