HIBISCUS SPLEN'DENS. 
SPLENDID HIBISCUS. 
NATURAL ORDER, MALVACEAE:. 
thalamifloe^, 
O F ^Zl 
DECANDOLLE. 
No. 225. 
GENUS. Hibiscus. Lin\£us. Involucellu3i polyphyllum, foliolis sim- 
plicibus, vel bifurcatis. Calyx quinquefidiis,persistens, foliolis aestivatione val- 
vatis. CoROLL.!: petala 5, hypogyna, obouata-iiiEequilatera, unguibus imo tubo 
stamineo adnata, eestiyatione convoliitiTa. Tubus stamineus columnee-formis, 
infra apicem nudum, truncatum v quinque dentatum, filamenta plus minus 
copiosa exserens. AxTHERiE reniformes, bivalves. Ovarium sessile, simplex, 
quinqueloculare. Ovula in loculis plurima, v pauca angulo centrali inserta. 
Stylus terminalis, apice exserto quinquefidus; stigmata capitellata, rarissime 
cob^rentia. Capsula quinquelocularis, loculicide quinquevalvis, valvis medio 
margine septa seminifera gerentibus, columella centrali nulla. Semina plurima 
V iuterdum aborta pauca, adscendentia, reniformia, testa Crustacea, nuda aut 
squamulosa vel interdum lanata: Embryo intra albumen parcissimum mu- 
cilaginosum homotrope arcuatus; cotyledonibus foliaceis, sesse plicato-invol- 
veutibus, radicula infera, Endlicher; Genera Plantarum, p. 989. 
SPECIES. Hibiscus splendens {Frazer, d/NS) frutex, aculeis rectis basi 
tuberculatis, corolla expansa extrosum costis pluribus flexuosis tomentosis, 
calyce 5-lido laciniis acutis,3 nervibus carinatis, involucro multipartite laciniis 
lineari-subulatis interdum ramosis calyce paulo brevioribus, pedunculo siijira 
medio obliquse articulata to, folii palmatis 3-5 lobatis, lobis lanceolatis. Grah. 
Character of the Genus, Hibiscus. Involucellum many- 
leaved, leaves simple, or forked. Calyx five-parted, persistent, val- 
vate in aestivation. Petals of the corolla five, situate on the recep¬ 
tacle, unequally obovate, being joined by ungues to the base of the 
stamineous tube,conyolvate in aestivation. Staaiineous tube column¬ 
like, naked beneath the apex, truncate, or five-toothed, putting forth 
filaments more or less abundant. Anthers reniform, two-valved. 
Ovarium sessile, simple, five-celled. Ovules many or few in the 
cells, inserted on the central angle. Style terminal, the apex pro¬ 
jecting with five divisions. Stigmas in very little heads, rarely 
cohering. Capsule five-celled, and five-valved, valves bearing septa, 
containing the seeds on the middle of their margin, no central 
columella. Seeds many, or sometimes from abortion few, rising 
upwards, kidney-shaped, testa crustaceous, naked or in scales, or 
sometimes woolly. Embryo curved in the direction of the seed, 
within a very small mucilaginous albumen; cotyledons leafy, plicately 
folded, radicle inferior. 
Description of the Species, Hibiscus splendens. Stem 
round, from four to twenty-two feet high, clothed with stellate pubes- 
5-5. 
r Artificial divisions 
s to -which 
I this Plant belongs 
:i 
MONADELPHIA, 
POLTANDRIA, 
OF LINNECS. 
