Hibiscus Flower

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Hibicus Flower

The Hibiscus is a large genus consisting of about 200-220 species of flowering plants. These plants are found in warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of the world. The genus includes herbaceous plants, woody shrubs and small trees. The leaves are alternate and deep green in color. The leaves have a typical ovate shape with a toothed or lobed margin. The hibiscus flowers are conspicuously large (4-15 cm broad) and trumpet shaped. They have 5 petals and the colors of the blossoms range from white to pink, red, purple or yellow.

The showy hibiscus flowers allow these plants to be used as popular landscape shrubs. The Hibiscus flower is so popular that many countries have adopted these flowers as their national symbols. The Hibiscus Syriacus is the National Flower of S.Korea, the Chinese Hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia and the Hibiscus Brackenbridge is the state flower of Hawaii.

In temperate zones the Hibiscus Syriacus is the most common flower. It is the common garden hibiscus and is also known as the 'Rose of Althea' or the 'Rose of Sharon'. In tropical areas the Chinese Hibiscus is the most popular. The Hibiscus flower looks glorious in its entire showy splendor. The buds are quite big, and hold sweet nectar deep within them. The flowers open and remain fresh for only a day. The 5 petals open really wide and fall to the sides, allowing the stamen to stand proudly in the center. The pollen is usually a contrasting color. In the red flowers, the pollen is deep yellow, while yellow flowers show an orangish pollen dust. The hibiscus flower typically consists of a staminal tube surrounding a long and slender style split into spreading branches at the top. A little known but very significant use of the Hibiscus flower, especially the red ones is that it is used for worship. In South India, the Hibiscus flower is considered sacred and is often used to adorn idols in temples. In places like Hawaii, the flower is used purely for ornamentation. It is usual to see Hawaiian girls wearing these big white or pink flowers in their hair etc. The hibiscus flowers have become so popular now that newer varieties are fast appearing. One attractive variation of the hibiscus flower is the double hibiscus.

Breeders have been trying to bring about certain improvements in the existing hibiscus flowers. These improvements pertain largely to three areas: 1) size: either very big or very small flowers, 2) colors: a vast array of colors ranging from silver grays to violets and lavenders and 3) keeping quality: hibiscus flowers do not last very long even when they are on the bush. The attractive thing about hibiscus is that a happy plant will give a profusion of new flowers every morning. Each stem may carry a number of buds at any given time. Hibiscus plants are generally very hardy and bloom all around the year.

Depending upon their area of origin, hibiscus flowers have a surprising array of uses too. In Jamaica and India, these flowers are often called 'Shoe Flowers', maybe because the crushed flowers are used as show polish. Women in Asia also use the flower as a natural hair dye, and the juice of the leaves as well as the flower is considered to be good for inducing hair growth. Thus it is used in some places as a natural hair-conditioning agent. The hibiscus flowers are edible, and thus can be easily added to salads etc. These flowers are supposed to cure indigestion, constipation, nausea and bladder infections.

Hibiscus flower
Picture by Fir0002

Another hibiscus flower
Picture by Fir0002