Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn. (family Malvaceae), known colloquially as the Chinese hibiscus, is an evergreen flowering shrub native to East Asia. It is also known as China rose and shoe flower. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant throughout the tropics and subtropics. The flowers are large, generally red in the original varieties, and firm, but generally lack any scent. Numerous varieties, cultivars, and hybrids are available, with flower colors ranging from white through yellow and orange to scarlet and shades of pink, with both single and double sets of petals. Despite their size and red hues attractive to nectar-feeding birds, they are not visited regularly by hummingbirds when grown in the Neotropics. Generalists, like the Sapphire-spangled Emerald, Amazilia lactea, or long-billed species, like the Stripe-breasted Starthroat, Heliomaster squamosus, are occasionally seen to visit it, however.[1] In the subtropical and temperate Americas, hummingbirds are attracted to them on a regular basis.
The Hibisucus rosa-sinensis was discovered and named by Carolus Linnaeus. It has many names in Chinese: chijin 赤槿、riji 日及、fusang 扶桑、fosang 佛桑、hongfusang 红扶桑、hongmujin 红木槿、sangjin 桑槿、huohonghua 火红花、zhaodianhong 照殿红、songjin 宋槿、erhonghua 二红花、huashanghua 花上花、tuhonghua 土红花、jiamudan 假牡丹 and zhongguoqiangwei 中国蔷薇. Each of these many names is from a different state in China, each state having its own name for the plant.
[edit] National symbol
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is the national flower of Malaysia, called Bunga Raya in Malay, dahonghua 大红花 in Chinese, Sembaruthi-செம்பருத்தி in Tamil, Gurhal/orhul in Hindi, Chembarathi in Malayalam, Wada Mal in Sinhala, and Mamdaram (మందారం) in Telugu.
Introduced into the Malay Peninsula in the 12th Century, it was nominated as the national flower in the year 1958 by the Ministry of Agriculture amongst a few other flowers, namely ylang ylang, jasmine, lotus, rose, magnolia, and bunga tanjung. On 28 July 1960, it was declared by the government of Malaysia that the hibiscus would be the national flower.
The word bunga in Malay means "flower", whilst raya in Malay means "big". The hibiscus is literally known as the "big flower" in Malay. The red of the petals symbolizes the courage, life, and rapid growth of the Malaysian, and the five petals represent the five Rukun Negara of Malaysia. The flower can be found imprinted on the notes and coins of the Malaysian ringgit.
[edit] Uses
Hibiscus flower preparations are used for hair care. The flowers themselves are edible and are used in salads in the Pacific Islands. The flowers are used to shine shoes in parts of India, as well as for the worship of Devi. In Indonesia, these flowers are called "kembang sepatu", which literally means "flower of shoes".
[edit] Genetics
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is one of many plant genera with a genetic characteristic known as polyploidy, in which the number of chromosomes is far greater than the two ("x" and "y") we commonly think of with human genetics. Polyploidy is a condition where the genetic characteristics of the offspring may be quite different from the parent, or indeed any ancestor, essentially allowing possibly random expression of all (or any) of the characteristics of all the generations that have gone before. Because of this characteristic, H. rosa-sinensis has become popular with hobbyists who cross and recross varieties, creating new named varieties and holding competitions to exhibit and judge the many resulting new seedlings and often strikingly unique flowers.
Often the progeny of these crosses are sterile, but some are fertile, further increasing the complexity of variability and the possibility of a virtually unlimited number of eventual Hibiscus rosa-sinensis varieties. This further attracts the hobbyists, who have created local and international associations, societies, publications, and manuals to further this hobby, which is practiced with these tropical plants worldwide, including indoors in cold climates.
The first four photographs in the gallery below show the flowers from the Pollen Parent, the Pod Parent, and two offspring of a cross as described, which demonstrate virtually no color characteristics of the parent plants, and few of the physical characteristics.
