Astrohibiscus

Astrohibiscus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Subfamily:	Malvoideae
Tribe:	Hibisceae
Genus:	Astrohibiscus McLay & R.L.Barrett
Species:	A. caesius
Binomial name
Astrohibiscus caesius (Garcke) McLay & R.L.Barrett
Synonyms [1]
Abelmoschus adscendens(G.Don) Walp. Hibiscus adscendensG.Don Hibiscus ascendensWalp., orth. var. Hibiscus caesiusGarcke (1849) (species basionym) Hibiscus caesius var. genuinusHochr., not validly publ. Hibiscus caesius var. micropetalusGürke Hibiscus gibsoniiStocks ex Harv. Hibiscus heterotrichusE.Mey. ex Harv., not validly publ. Hibiscus pentaphyllusF.Muell., nom illeg.

Astrohibiscus is a genus of flowering plant]]s in the family Malvaceae. It includes a single species, Astrohibiscus caesius, a shrub native to southern tropical Africa and the Indian subcontinent. ^[1]

The species is native to southern tropical Africa, ranging from southwestern Tanzania to Angola and the Northern Provinces of South Africa, as well as India and Pakistan. ^[1]

The species was first described as Hibiscus caesius by Christian August Friedrich Garcke in 1849. In 2024 Todd McLay and Russell Lindsay Barrett placed the species in the newly described monotypic genus Astrohibiscus as Astrohibiscus caesius. ^{[1] [2]}

References

1. "Astrohibiscus caesius (Garcke) McLay & R.L.Barrett". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 28 October 2025.
2. Margaret M. Hanes, Orland J. Blanchard Jr., Janice Valencia-D., Todd McLay, J. Richard Abbott, Stuart F. McDaniel, Russell L. Barrett, Sarah Mathews, and Kurt M. Neubig "Phylogenetic Relationships Within Tribe Hibisceae (Malvaceae) Reveal Complex Patterns of Polyphyly in Hibiscus and Pavonia," Systematic Botany 49(1), 77-116, (6 May 2024). https://doi.org/10.1600/036364424X17114831879189