Hibiscus rosa-sinensis

An evergreen shrub growing 2.5 m tall and wide at a fast rate. Hardy to UK zone 9 and frost tender. Year-round foliage with hermaphroditic flowers pollinated by insects. Thrives in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage. Tolerates mildly acidic to mildly alkaline pH. Requires full sun and prefers consistently moist soil.

Description

A shrubby hibiscus used for hedges. It is a evergreen woody shrub. It grows to 2-5 m tall. The bark is grey and flaky. It has fine stripes. The leaves are bright green. They are oval and the edges of the leaves are entire on the lower leaves. The upper leaves are coarsely toothed. The leaves have long tips. The flowers occur singly in the axils of leaves. Flowers can be single or double. They are bell shaped and 10-15 cm across. There are a range of colours. The fruit are rounded capsules with many seeds inside. The capsules are beaked. Plants usually do not produce fruit in the hot humid tropics.

Edible Uses

Young leaves are sometimes used as a spinach substitute. Flowers can be eaten raw or cooked, made into a pickle, or used as a purple dye for colouring preserved fruits and cooked vegetables. The roots are edible but highly fibrous, with a mucilaginous texture and little flavour. Nutritional composition per 100 g of fresh flowers: 0 calories; water 89.8%; protein 0.06 g; fat 0.4 g; carbohydrate 0 g; fibre 1.56 g; ash 0 g; calcium 4 mg; phosphorus 27 mg; iron 1.7 mg; magnesium, sodium, potassium and zinc 0 mg; vitamin A 0 mg; thiamine (B1) 0.03 mg; riboflavin (B2) 0.05 mg; niacin 0.6 mg; B6 0 mg; vitamin C 4.2 mg.

Traditional Uses

The leaves are eaten cooked. In some places they are pounded before cooking. The flowers are eaten raw or pickled. They are also added to drinks. They are used to colour foods including preserved fruit, sliced pineapple, agar-agar jellies, and cooked vegetables. The fresh flower ovary is eaten.

Medicinal Uses

Chinese hibiscus is a sweet, astringent, cooling herb that checks bleeding, soothes irritated tissues and relaxes spasms. The flowers are aphrodisiac, demulcent, emmenagogue, emollient and refrigerant, and are used internally to treat excessive and painful menstruation, cystitis, venereal diseases, feverish illnesses, bronchial catarrh and coughs, and to promote hair growth. A flower infusion is given as a cooling drink to people who are ill. The leaves are anodyne, aperient, emollient and laxative; a leaf decoction is used as a lotion for fevers. Leaves and flowers beaten into a paste are poulticed onto cancerous swellings and mumps. The flowers are also used in the treatment of carbuncles, mumps, fever and sores. The root is a good source of mucilage and can substitute for marsh mallow (Althaea officinalis) in treating coughs and colds; a paste made from the root is used in the treatment of venereal diseases.

Known Hazards

Do not use during pregnancy or if planning children.

Distribution

A tropical and subtropical plant. A common ornamental throughout the tropics. It originally came from China. It thrives on any type of soil. It is tolerant of salinity. Different types are adapted to sunny or shady places. They grow where average temperatures are between 15-30°C. They are very sensitive to frost. They grow from sea level to 1000 m altitude. They probably require a minimum rainfall of 700 mm per year. It grows in Nepal to 1400 m altitude. It grows in open, moist places. It suits hardiness zones 9-11. In Sichuan and Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Africa, Antigua and Barbuda, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Burkina Faso, Central Africa, Central America, China*, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Europe, Fiji, France, FSM, Ghana, Greece, Guiana, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Italy, Kiribati, Laos, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Mediterranean, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, Portugal, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Helena, St. Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, UAE, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in a warm, sheltered position in full sun. A very ornamental plant, it is not very frost-tolerant and needs to be grown in essentially frost-free areas. It might succeed outdoors in the very mildest areas of the country if given a very sheltered warm position. Alternatively, it might be possible to grow the plant as a tender annual by starting it off early in a warm greenhouse. If well-grown it can flower and set seed in its first year. This species grows very well in a frost-free conservatory in Northern Europe so long as it is in a sunny position and free from draughts. Plants will often lose most of their leaves in cool winters, though they will normally regenerate quickly as the warmer weather returns. The flowers of Chinese hibiscus are very important in Hindu devotional ceremonies, being sacred to the Elephant God, Ganesh. Individual flowers are short-lived, in many modern cultivars the flowers wither after 24 hours though in many of the older cultivars they can last for 48 hours. There are many named forms, selected for their ornamental value.

Propagation

Sow seed in early spring in a warm greenhouse; germination is usually fairly rapid. Prick seedlings into individual pots when large enough to handle. For annual cultivation, plant out in early summer with frame or cloche protection until established. For perennial cultivation, grow on in the greenhouse for the first year and plant out in early summer of the following year. Half-ripe cuttings taken in July or August can be rooted in a frame, overwintered in a warm greenhouse, and planted out after the last expected frosts.

Other Uses

Petal juice is used in China as shoe-blacking and mascara. A dye is made from the petals. A good-quality fibre obtained from the stems is used for coarse fabrics, nets and paper; in warm subtropical areas the fibres can reach up to 3 metres in length, though in Britain they would be much shorter. The plant is often used for hedges and screens, though its limited cold hardiness makes it unsuitable for this purpose in Britain.

Other Information

In Papua New Guinea it is mostly grown as an ornamental but is eaten in some areas.

Notes

It is used in medicine in Indonesia. There are about 220 Hibiscus species and many cultivated varieties of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Amapola, Aute samoa, Bup, Bunga raya, Bunga sepatu, Bussouge, Cha-baa, Chaba, Chembarathi, Chinese rose, Clavelon, Dam but, Dasavala, Dasindacha phula, Fasut jasum, Fu sang, Ghanti phul, Gugamela, Gumamela bulaklak, Japa, Jasavanda, Jasum, Jasut, Jasuva, Java pushpamu dasana, Java, Joba, Karibunamidi, Khaung-yan, Khaung-yan-ywet-hla, Kembang sepatu, Kembang sepatu mawar cina, Khubayzah, Kugra, Linyolo, Losi, Mamela, Mandaro, Mar pacifico, Mawkmnae, Pan-swe-le, Phurahong, Pushpam, Rakta puspi, Rooj, Rosa, Rudra, Saimaa, Sapattu mal, Semparuthi, Shoe flower, Te roti, Thelele, Vadamal, Watha wal, Woro wari, Zhu jin

References (61)

• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 42
• Ambasta, S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 267
• Benvenuti, S. & Mazzoncini, M., 2021, The Biodiversity of Edible Flowers: Discovering New Tastes and New Health Benefits. Frontiers in Plant Science Article 569499.
• Blamey, M and Grey-Wilson, C., 2005, Wild flowers of the Mediterranean. A & C Black London. p 135
• Bodkin, F., 1991, Encyclopedia Botanica. Cornstalk publishing, p 558

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