Hibiscus syriacus — shrubby rose-mallow
![Leaves: Hibiscus syriacus. ~ By Charles Brun. ~ Copyright © 2024. ~ brunc[at]wsu.edu ~ Pacific Northwest Plants - www.pnwplants.wsu.edu/](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Malvaceae/hibiscus-syriacus-le-pnw.jpg)
![Flowers: Hibiscus syriacus. ~ By Carol Levine. ~ Copyright © 2024 Carol Levine. ~ carolflora[at]optonline.net](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Malvaceae/hibiscus-syriacus-fl-clevine.jpg)
![Flowers: Hibiscus syriacus. ~ By David G. Smith. ~ Copyright © 2024. ~ dgsmith3[at]gmail.com ~ Delaware Wildflowers - delawarewildflowers.org/](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Malvaceae/hibiscus-syriacus-fl-dsmith.jpg)
![Winter buds: Hibiscus syriacus. ~ By West Virgina University Press. ~ Copyright © 2024 West Virgina University Press. ~ carrie.mullen[at]mail.wva.edu ~ Core, Earl L. and Nelle P. Ammons. 1958. Woody Plants in Winter. West Virginia U. Press, Morgantown, WV. 218pp.](https://newfs.s3.amazonaws.com/taxon-images-1000s1000/Malvaceae/hibiscus-syriacus-wb-wvupress1.jpg)
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Facts
Shrubby rose-mallow (aka "Rose of Sharon") is a tall, gangly shrub with lobed leaves and showy, pink-red flowers. This species is the national flower of South Korea, and is native to Asia. In North America, many cultivars are grown with variants of petal color and bloom time. Its large blooms have many stamens fused at the base into a long tube surrounding the pistils. Its curvaceous seeds are notably hairy.
Habitat
Anthropogenic (man-made or disturbed habitats)
New England distribution
Adapted from BONAP data
Native: indigenous.
Non-native: introduced (intentionally or unintentionally); has become naturalized.
County documented: documented to exist in the county by evidence (herbarium specimen, photograph). Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
State documented: documented to exist in the state, but not documented to a county within the state. Also covers those considered historical (not seen in 20 years).
Note: when native and non-native populations both exist in a county, only native status is shown on the map.
Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.
enlargeCharacteristics
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Connecticut
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Leaf blade edges
-
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
- Leaf blade length
- 30–100 mm
- Leaf blade width
- 20–40 mm
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- yellow
- Bud scale number
- there are no scales on the winter buds
-
Buds or leaf scars
- Bud scale number
- there are no scales on the winter buds
- Bud scar shape (Fraxinus)
- NA
- Collateral buds
- there are no collateral buds on the sides of the branches
- Superposed buds
- there are no superposed buds on the branch
-
Flowers
- Carpels fused
- the carpels are fused to one another
- Enlarged sterile flowers
- there are no enlarged sterile flowers on the plant
- Flower petal color
-
- blue
- pink
- purple
- red
- white
- Flower symmetry
- there are two or more ways to evenly divide the flower (the flower is radially symmetrical)
- Hairs on ovary (Amelanchier)
- NA
- Hypanthium present
- the flower does not have a hypanthium
- Inflorescence type
-
- the flowers grow out of the axil (point where a branch or leaf is attached to the main stem)
- the inflorescence has only one flower on it
- Number of pistils
- 1
- Ovary position
- the ovary is above the point of petal and/or sepal attachment
- Petal and sepal arrangement
- the flower includes two cycles of petal- or sepal-like structures
- Petal appearance
- the petals are thin and delicate, and pigmented (colored other than green or brown)
- Petal fusion
- the perianth parts are separate
- Sepal cilia (Ilex)
- NA
- Stamen number
- 13 or more
-
Fruits or seeds
- Berry color
- NA
- Fruit tissue origin
- there are no flower parts that form part of the fruit
- Fruit type (specific)
- the fruit is a capsule (splits along two or more seams, apical teeth or pores when dry, to release two or more seeds)
- Nut with spines (Fagaceae)
- NA
- Wings on fruit
- there are no wings on the fruit
-
Glands or sap
- Sap color
- the sap is clear and watery
- Stalked glands on fruit (Rosa)
- NA
-
Growth form
- Growth form
- the plant is a shrub (i.e., a woody plant with several stems growing from the base)
-
Leaves
- Hairs on upper side of leaf blade
- the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs
- Leaf blade base shape
- the base of the leaf blade is cuneate (wedge-shaped, tapers to the base with relatively straight, converging edges), or narrow
- Leaf blade edges
-
- the edge of the leaf blade has lobes, or it has both teeth and lobes
- the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
- Leaf blade edges (Acer)
- NA
- Leaf blade hairs
- NA
- Leaf blade length
- 30–100 mm
- Leaf blade shape
-
- the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
- the leaf blade is rhombic (roughly diamond-shaped)
- the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides
- Leaf blade texture
- the leaf blade is herbaceous (has a leafy texture)
- Leaf blade width
- 20–40 mm
- Leaf duration
- the leaves drop off in winter (or they wither but persist on the plant)
- Leaf lobe tips (Quercus)
- NA
- Leaf stalk
- the leaves have leaf stalks
- Leaf stalk nectaries
- there are no nectaries on the leaf stalk
- Leaf teeth
- the leaf blade margin is crenate (with rounded teeth) or crenulate (with tiny, rounded teeth)
- Leaf teeth hairs (Carya)
- NA
- Leaf type
- the leaf blade is simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)
- Leaves per node
- there is one leaf per node along the stem
- Specific leaf type
- the leaves are simple (i.e., lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets
-
Place
- Habitat
- terrestrial
- New England state
- Connecticut
- Specific habitat
- man-made or disturbed habitats
-
Stem, shoot, branch
- Aerial roots
- the plant has no aerial roots
- Bark texture
- the bark of an adult plant is thin and smooth
- Branch brittleness (willows only)
- NA
- Branch cross-section
- the branch is circular in cross-section, or it has five or more sides, so that there are no sharp angles
- First-year cane (Rubus)
- NA
- Twig papillae (Vaccinium species only)
- NA
- Twig winter color
-
- brown
- gray
- yellow
- Wings on branch
- the branch does not have wings on it
- armature on plant
- the plant does not have spines, prickles, or thorns
Wetland status
Not classified
In New England
Distribution
- Connecticut
- present
- Maine
- absent
- Massachusetts
- absent
- New Hampshire
- absent
- Rhode Island
- absent
- Vermont
- absent
Conservation status
None
From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key
2. Hibiscus syriacus L. E
shrubby rose-mallow. CT; also reported from RI by George (1997), but specimens are unknown. Waste areas, disturbed places.
Native to North America?
No
Sometimes confused with
- Hibiscus moscheutos:
- plants herbaceous, leaf blades stellate-pubescent on the abaxial surface, and seeds eciliate (vs. H. syriacus, with plants woody, leaf blades glabrous on the abaxial surface, and seeds ciliate).