Plant Story--The Beautiful Roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa

The roselle is a small hibiscus, Hibiscus sabdariffa, (cotton family, Malvaceae) that is grown as food, but pretty enough to be grown as an ornamental. Also known as Jamaican sorrel, roselle is a tropical perennial which can be grown outside the tropics as an annual. The stems are red, the leaves green, the veins in the leaf red. The flowers are white or yellow with dark centers. Around each flower are a series of fleshy red sepals and another circle of red bracts that look very similar. The sepals are gathered and eaten, sometimes under the name "hibiscus flowers."

roselle, Hibiscus sabdariffa

Plant Story--Hibiscus!

Hibiscus rosa-sinesis, Hawaii

I really like hibiscus. They have big showy flowers. They are also easy to recognize.

Visiting Kauai -- Native Flowers!

Last post I showed spectacular tropical flowers you can easily see in Kauai. (LINK) Those are from elsewhere in the tropics, brought to Hawaii because someone liked them.

Also in Kauai are native plants. It is believed that since the volcanic emergence of the Hawaiian Islands from the Pacific, 271 different plants have arrived without help from humans--as seeds, as pieces, traveling by bird, floating or on the wind--and established populations. From those 271 colonists, about 1200 species have evolved, spread over the Hawaiian Islands.  Here are some examples:

Visiting Kauai - Flowers!

The flowers of Kauai are lovely. Most of the easily-seen ones are non-native. For example