Hibiscus mutabilis

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Hibiscus mutabilis
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Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Hibiscus
Species:
H. mutabilis
Binomial name
Hibiscus mutabilis
L.

Hibiscus mutabilis, also known as the Confederate rose, Dixie rosemallow, cotton rose or cotton rosemallow, is a plant long cultivated for its showy flowers. Originally native to southern China and Taiwan, [1] it is now found on all continents except Antarctica.

Confederate roses tend to be shrubby or treelike in zones 9 and 10, though they behave more like perennials further north. Flowers can be double or single and are 4–6 in (10–15 cm) in diameter; they open white or pink, and change to deep red by evening. The 'Rubra' variety has red flowers. Single blooming flowers are generally cup-shaped. Bloom season usually lasts from summer through fall. Propagation by cuttings root easiest in early spring, but cuttings can be taken at almost any time. When it does not freeze, the Confederate rose can reach heights of 12–15 ft (3.7–4.6 m) with a woody trunk; however, a much bushier plant 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) high is more typical and provides more flowering. These plants have a very fast growth rate. The Confederate rose was at one time very common in the area of the Confederate States of America, which is how its common name was derived. It grows well in full sun or partial shade, and prefers rich, well-drained soil. [2]

The flowers are attractive to pollinators, including the specialized bee Ptilothrix bombiformis. [3]

Changing colors of the flower during a day Hibiscus mutabilis, changing colors.jpg
Changing colors of the flower during a day

In cultivation in the UK, Hibiscus mutabilis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [4]

Floral color change

Floral color change occurs in H. mutabilis when flowers are white in the morning, turning pink during noon and red in the evening of the same day. Under laboratory conditions, the color change of the petals was slower than that of flowers under outdoor conditions. [5] Temperature may be an important factor affecting the rate of colour change as white flowers kept in the refrigerator remain white until they are taken out to warm, whereupon they slowly turn pink. [6]

The red flowers remain on plants for several days before they abort. [5] Weight of a single detached flower was 15.6 g (0.55 oz) when white, 12.7 g (0.45 oz) when pink and 11.0 g (0.39 oz) when red. Anthocyanin content of red flowers was three times that of pink flowers and eight times that of white flowers. There was a significant increase in phenolic content with color change. Overall ranking of antioxidant properties of H. mutabilis flowers was red > pink > white.

Subramanian and Nair postulated that anthocyanins in pink and red flowers of H. mutabilis are synthesized independently since there is no reduction in phenolic content. [7] However, Lowry suggested that anthocyanins are formed through direct conversion from flavonols as they have structural similarities. [8]

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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.

<i>Hibiscus syriacus</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to Korea, and south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the rose of Sharon,, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, and rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem.

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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.

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Aronia is a genus of deciduous shrubs, the chokeberries, in the family Rosaceae native to eastern North America and most commonly found in wet woods and swamps. The genus Aronia is considered to have 3 species. The most common and widely used is Aronia melanocarpa which emerged from Eastern North America. The lesser known Aronia arbutifolia and the hybrid form of the abovementioned species called Aronia prunifolia were first cultivated in Central and Eastern North America. In the eighteenth century, the first shrubs of the best-known species Aronia melanocarpa reached Europe where they were first cultivated in Scandinavia and Russia.

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<i>Hibiscus acetosella</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Hibiscus moscheutos</i> Species of aquatic plant

Hibiscus moscheutos, the rose mallow, swamp rose-mallow, crimsoneyed rosemallow, or eastern rosemallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is a cold-hardy perennial wetland plant that can grow in large colonies. The hirsute leaves are of variable morphology, but are commonly deltoidal in shape with up to three lobes. It is found in wetlands and along the riverine systems of the eastern United States from Texas to the Atlantic states, its territory extending northward to southern Ontario.

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<i>Hibiscus schizopetalus</i> Species of flowering plant

Hibiscus schizopetalus is a species of Hibiscus native to tropical eastern Africa in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. Its common names include fringed rosemallow, Japanese lantern, coral hibiscus, and spider hibiscus.

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Anthocyanins, also called anthocyans, are water-soluble vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart gave the name Anthokyan to a chemical compound that gives flowers a blue color for the first time in his treatise "Die Farben der Blüthen". Food plants rich in anthocyanins include the blueberry, raspberry, black rice, and black soybean, among many others that are red, blue, purple, or black. Some of the colors of autumn leaves are derived from anthocyanins.

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References

  1. "Hibiscus mutabilis L. | Plants of the World Online | Kew Science". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  2. William C. Welch: "Hardy Hibiscus", Texas A&M University
  3. "Hibiscus mutabilis (Confederate Rose, Cotton Rose) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2021-02-26.
  4. "Hibiscus mutabilis". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 23 August 2020.
  5. 1 2 Wong, S.K.; Lim, Y.Y.; Chan, E.W.C. (2009). "Antioxidant properties of Hibiscus: species variation, altitudinal change, coastal influence and floral colour change" (PDF). Journal of Tropical Forest Science. 21 (4): 307–315. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2010-02-09.
  6. Ng, F.S.P. (2006). Tropical Horticulture and Gardening. Kuala Lumpur: Clearwater Publications. ISBN   983-42954-0-5.
  7. Subramanian, S.S.; Nair, A.G.R. (1970). "A note on the colour change of the flowers of Hibiscus mutabilis". Current Science. 39 (14): 323–324.
  8. Lowry, J.B. (1976). "Floral anthocyanins of some Malesian Hibiscus species". Phytochemistry. 15 (9): 1395–1396. doi:10.1016/s0031-9422(00)97124-3.