The Rose Mallow

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblackplant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, but is not known in the wild, so that its native distribution is uncertain. An origin in some part of tropical Asia is likely. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is a bushy, evergreen shrub or small tree growing 2.5–5 meters tall and 1.5–3 meters wide, with glossy leaves and solitary, brilliant red flowers in summer and autumn. The 5-petaled flowers are 10 cm in diameter, with prominent orange-tipped red anthers. The root is a branched tap root. The stem is aerial, erect, green, cylindrical and branched. The leaf is simple, with alternate phyllotaxy and is petiolate. The leaf shape is ovate, the tip is acute and margin is serrated.