TREE HIBISCUS 
MONTEZUMA 
* MONTEZUMA (M. §speciosissima). 
This big-leaved evergreen Puerto Rican 
roadside tree is the most imposing of the 
“tree hibiscus” group for it grows to 50 
feet with great arching branches and 
heavy foliage. Its magnificent mallow 
flowers open flat, about 6 inches across, 
mostly from February to May, a spec- 
tacular scarlet that looks as if sprayed 
with wax. Sometime the blossoms are 
lost among the big leaves. 
HAWAIIAN 
TREE HIBISCUS 
* HAWAIIAN TREE HIBISCUS (H. 
tiliaceus). Usually called “Mahoe,” this 
beautiful, spreading, seaside evergreen 
tree to 20 feet, with its 3-inch bright- 
yellow, cup-shaped flowers turning dark 
red at night, is much used near the beach 
because of its resistance to salt spray. 
The 6-inch rounded leaves resemble those 
of the linden or basswood tree. In Ha- 
14 
waii this hibiscus is grown as a wind- 
break hedge or pruned to cover an 
arbor. It thrives best when moisture is 
plentiful but will grow in dry sandy loca- 
tions with little care. All summer its 
copious bright yellow flowers cover the 
top of the tree and make it a charming 
ornamental. The wood is rather brittle 
and the trees should be kept trimmed. 
CUBAN BAST 
CUBAN BAST (Hibiscus elatus. Syn. 
Paritium elatum). This small, round- 
topped, fast-growing, evergreen shade tree 
is much planted in South Florida because 
its dense top never gets too big for the 
yard and the shining foliage is beautiful. 
Less showy in bloom than the Mahoe (H. 
tiliaceus), it still does have rather attrac- 
tive, stiff, hibiscus-like flowers of a sul- 
phur-yellow or orange color that fade by 
afternoon to a peculiar orange-brown. Tree 
grows best near water and is quite salt- 
spray resistant. 
LILAC HIBISCUS (H. huegeli). This 
ungainly West Australian shrub has per- 
fectly beautiful single lilac flowers 4 
inches across. Clarke calls them “nearly 
pure lavender with a faint purplish sheen” 
I have had difficulty establishing this in 
Florida as it seems to resent our excessive 
moisture. 
