Eden

Penang Botanic Gardens Plant Collection

Hibiscus mutabilis L. (MALVACEAE)

Posted at — Nov 13, 2019
Cotton Rose, Confederate Rose, Rose of Sharon, Changeable Rose

Description

Erect, robust, deciduous or evergreen shrub or small tree, 1.5-5 m tall. Leaves 10-15 cm long, broadly ovate to round-ovate or cordate, 5-7 lobed. Flowers c. 12-15 cm across, solitary, axillary on upper branches, petals white turning red the following day. Fruits flattened globose capsule, c. 2.5 cm diameter.

Ecology

Forming thickets along streams.

Distribution

S China and Taiwan, occasionally naturalized in many countries.

Uses

Widely cultivated as ornamental. Cultivars with double petals have been called H. mutabilis f. plenus.