Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are renowned for their large, showy flowers and those species are commonly known simply as "hibiscus", or less widely known as rose mallow. Other names include hardy hibiscus, rose of sharon, and tropical hibiscus.
Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ornamentals, such as Alcea (hollyhock), Malva (mallow), and Tilia. The largest genera in terms of number of species include Hibiscus, Sterculia, Dombeya, Pavonia and Sida.
Abutilon is a large genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics of the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Australia. General common names include Indian mallow and velvetleaf; ornamental varieties may be known as room maple, parlor maple, or flowering maple. The genus name is an 18th-century Neo-Latin word that came from the Arabic ’abū-ṭīlūn, the name given by Avicenna to this or a similar genus.
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a species of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics, but its native range is Vanuatu.
Kosteletzkya is a genus of the plant family Malvaceae that includes the seashore mallow. It includes about 27 species found worldwide.
Malvaviscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. Common names for species in this genus include Turk's cap mallow, wax mallow, sleeping hibiscus, and mazapan. It belongs to a group of genera that differ from the closely related Hibiscus in possessing a fruit divided into 5 separate parts, and having a style surmounted by 10, rather than 5, capitate or capitellate stigmas. Among those genera Malvaviscus is distinguished by having auriculate petals and red, fleshy fruits. The generic name is derived from the Latin words malva, meaning "mallow," and viscus, which means "sticky," referring to the mucilaginous sap produced by members of the genus. The fruit can be used to make jelly or syrup. Both the fruit and flowers are used to make herbal teas.
Abelmoschus is a genus of about fifteen species of flowering plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae), native to tropical Africa, Asia and northern Australia. It was formerly included within Hibiscus, but is now classified as a distinct genus. The genus name derives from Arabic meaning 'father of musk' or 'source of musk' referring to the scented seeds.
Alyogyne is a genus of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae which are endemic to Australia. Its species were formerly in the genus Hibiscus but were split off starting in 1863 with H. hakaeifolius. In 1915 Lewton transferred H. cuneiformis and in Fryxell (1968) H. pinonianus and H. huegelii followed. A recent revision has created many new species.
Lagunaria is a genus in the family Malvaceae. It is an Australian plant which is native to Lord Howe Island, Norfolk Island and parts of coastal Queensland. It has been introduced to many parts of the world. The genus was named for its resemblance to the earlier genus Laguna Cav., which was named in honour of Andrés Laguna, a Spanish botanist and a physician to Pope Julius III.
Alyogyne hakeifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is endemic to the southern regions of Australia. The plant is similar to a Hibiscus and was assumed to be part of that genus for many years. It is known to have been cultivated in England since the mid nineteenth century.
Talipariti is a genus of plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. It consists of 22 species, which are exclusively tropical except for one species whose range extends into temperate areas of Japan and Korea. Most authors now treat these species as part of the genus Hibiscus, in which case they form the section Hibiscus sect. Azanzae.
Hibisceae is a tribe of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, subfamily Malvoideae.
Hibiscus cravenii is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is endemic to the Northern Territory in Australia.
Allosidastrum is a New World genus comprising four species in the tribe Malveae in the family Malvaceae. Members of the genus are woody, bearing ovate leaves with long petioles. Flowers - borne without calyculi - bear small, basally rounded calyxes of a length greater than that of their pedicels and whitish or palely yellow petals. Gynoeciums each consist of five to nine carpels and mature into fruits that yield one seed for each of their carpels.
Megistostegium is a genus of trees and shrubs in the family Malvaceae. The species are all endemic to Madagascar. The genus is threatened by livestock grazing, invasive plants and threats to pollinators.
Cienfuegosia is a genus of plants, in the family Malvaceae and placed in the tribe Gossypieae. Species can be found in central and south America, Africa including the Arabian peninsula.
Bastardiastrum is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae and is native to Mexico. They are shrubs or subshrubs with viscid stems.
Papuodendron is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae. In 1946 Cyril Tenison White described its first species, Papuodendron lepidotum, which was discovered growing in 1944 in the Mandated Territory of New Guinea. Its native range is New Guinea.
