Louisiana Plant ID | Hibiscus aculeatus (hibiscus)

FAMILY: MALVACEAE

ALTERNATE COMMON NAME: crimson-eyed rosemallow, marshmallow hibiscus, swamp rosemallow, mallow rose

LEAVES: alternate, simple, lanceolate to ovate; unlobed or middle and lower blades lobed; upper surface dark green, glabrous; lower surface covered with fine star-like pubescence; margins coarsely to shallowly toothed; bases rounded to nearly heart-shaped; tips tapering to points; gray-green above and hairy-white below

FLOWER: showy; five-petaled, creamy-white with conspicuous band of red or burgundy at the corolla base from which a tubular column of yellow stamen extend; 4 to 8 inches wide

FRUIT: capsule, egg-shaped; 1 to 1.2 inch long; tapers to an erect "beak"; enclosed by the enlarged, persistent calyx

TWIGS:

BARK:

FORM: perennial; 3 to 8 feet; numerous sturdy stems arising from a single crown

HABITAT: found along edges of salt marshes but is more common in upper-valley wetlands

WETLAND DESIGNATION: obligate wetland (OBL); almost always occurs (>99%) in wetlands in the southeast US

RANGE: eastern, southeastern, and central US

USES:

Best Recognition Features:

School of Renewable Natural Reources	Louisiana Plant Identification and Interactive Virtual Tours Dr. Chris S. Reid, Project Director \| creid4@lsu.edu LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA © 2003-2020 website problems or broken links: mbowen@agcenter.lsu.edu page revised: 15-Jan-2020 4:11 PM msb	LSU AgCenter
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