Hibiscus

“ Though not so shewy a plant as many of the genus, we find this species of Hibiscus in most collections of green-house plants about London, flowering from June to September.
Its foliage is singular, its blossoms sulphur coloured with a tint of orange on the under side and without scent; if suffered to grow, this shrub will acquire a considerable height; it seeds freely, by which the plant is readily increased, and by these it requires to be renewed once in two or three years. ”

“ Hibiscus foliis sub-cordatis, lobatis, dentatis: floribus terminalibus, magnis, colore sulphureo, ad basin petalorum maculâ atropurpureâ notatis. Caulis et petioli setis parvis laxis obsiti sunt, quæ manibus adhærentes irritant et pungunt.
Hibiscus with nearly heart-shaped leaves, lobed and toothed: flowers terminal, large, and of a sulphur colour, with a dark purple spot at the base of the petals. The stem and petioles are beset with small loose bristles, which sticking to the hand irritate and sting.
REFERENCE TO THE PLATE.
1. ”

“ Seed-bud and pointal, summits magnified.
This non-descript species of Hibiscus is a native of the East Indies. It approaches in general appearance nearest to the H. canabinus. The stems and footstalks of our plant are beset with short bristly hairs, so loosely attached that they easily come off, and, sticking about the hands, create an unpleasant sensation somewhat resembling the stinging of a nettle. The fine dark eye of the flower is a great relief to the surrounding sulphur colour, to the light delicacy of whose appearance it is so very difficult to do justice ”

“ A species which stands out as markedly different from the usual Hibiscus is H. schizopetalus which has been given the name in Hawaii of Coral Hibiscus. This is doubtless because its deeply cut, turned-back petals suggest branches of red coral. The flower stem is very slender, so the weight of the head causes it to fall over and hang down, bell-like. And since the central column of this flower is extremely long and slender it sways far beneath the flower, giving an effect of peculiar grace. This plant has leaves that are small and fine. ”

“ The African Hibiscus H africanus, is a very handsome flower growing to a considerable height, expanding to the diameter of six to seven inches, of a bright canary color, the dark blown spots at the base of the petals very distinctly marked, the seeds were considered a great acquisition when first obtained from Hobarton, but the plant has since been seen in great perfection growing wild in the Turaee at the foot of the Darjeeling range of hills, blooming in great perfection at the close of the rains. ”

“ In Hibiscus and Gossypium (cotton-plant, q.v.) , the fruit is a capsule splitting loculicidally. Distribution of the seeds is sometimes aided by hooked outgrowths on the wall of the schizocarp, or by a hairy covering on the seed, an extreme case of which is the cotton-plant where the seed is buried 518 in a mass of long tangled hairs—the cotton. The embryo is generally large with much-folded cotyledons and a small amount of endosperm.
The largest genus, Hibiscus, contains 150 species, which are widely distributed chiefly in the tropics; H. rosasinensis is a well-known greenhouse plant. ”

“ One day was consumed in selecting, felling, and trimming a tree, tall and straight enough to serve as a ridge-pole. We next had to get out some thirty rafters of hibiscus to support the roof. Then, as we had no nails, (Max’s ship with the hardware not having yet arrived) , we were obliged to adopt the means used by the Polynesian builders for fastening the rafters to the ridge-pole and cross-pieces, which consists of tying them firmly in their places with sennit. To supply the place of sennit, we manufactured a quantity of cord from twisted hibiscus bark, which answered the purpose very well. ”

“ Another close relative of the Hibiscus is the Ilima, a native plant which has orange flowers about an inch across, looking like miniature Hibiscus blooms. The color ranges in tone from light yellow through orange and buff, to brownish red, but the orange color is the most popular. Leaves and stems are covered with whitish hairs creating a velvety effect. The plant grows as a small shrub, rather straggling in appearance. It is seldom cultivated except by the lei makers, but is found wild in dry places. It also grows on other South Sea islands. ”

“ Drummond's collection, and there are five or six fine species of Hibiscus, of which H. lilacinus of the Botanical Register, tab. 2009, is one of the handsomest. An Hibiscus, with peltate leaves, was found by Frazer growing luxuriantly on the beach ”

“ Having perfected his arrangements, he would get my pipe, and, lighting it, would hand it to me. Often he was obliged to strike a light for the occasion, and as the mode he adopted was entirely different from what I had ever seen or heard of before I will describe it.
A straight, dry, and partly decayed stick of the Hibiscus, about six feet in length, and half as many inches in diameter, with a small, bit of wood not more than a foot long, and scarcely an inch wide, is as invariably to be met with in every house in Typee as a box of lucifer matches in the corner of a kitchen cupboard at home. ”

“ The Norfolk Island Hibiscus is a tender greenhouse plant; was introduced to Britain, in the year 1792, having been raised from seeds communicated by Col. Paterson, then stationed on that Island. It attains the height of 13 feet, or more, becoming a small tree; may be increased readily from cuttings, and should be planted in a mixture of loam and sandy peat. ”

“ Some of them are fairly well established and widespread by propagation through cuttings; others never existed in more than one plant. The only color no one has ever produced is blue. It is the hope of all hybridists.
WATERFALL OR BUTTERFLY HIBISCUS
One of the most conspicuous of the hybrids because of its prolific blooming is that sometimes called the Butterfly or Waterfall 22 Hibiscus from its graceful form. This is believed to be a cross between the Native White and Coral. The plant often grows into a small tree and is usually a mass of pink flowers. ”

“ The periodical change of colour in some flowers is also worthy of remark. Thus, the flowers of the speckled French Honeysuckle (Hedysarum maculatum) are purple in the morning and green at noon. The changeable Hibiscus (Hibiscus mutabilis) is white in the morning, flesh-coloured at noon, and rose-red in the evening. Thus, too, the great Corn-flag (Gladiolus grandis) changes its colour several times in the course of the day. ”

“ The Hau is a true Hibiscus, its flowers having the typical form with a central column rising from the center of the five petals. When the petals unfold they are a bright yellow color, usually with a dark spot at the base. As they grow older during the day they turn to an apricot color and when they finally fall, they are a deep red. The leaves are heart-shaped, green and leathery above, whitish and silky with hairs, beneath. ”

“ The carpels being many or few seeded, afford subsidiary characters, but that taken from the calyx is essentially the distinguishing one, as many species of Hibiscus have carpels with a plurality of seeds, but few, if any, have the spathaceous calyx. Upon the whole however, I think there is reason to doubt the propriety of breaking down even very large genera on such grounds. Abutilon and Sida, which want the involucrum and were formerly united, have on somewhat similar, but much better grounds, been separated. ”

“ The crossed plants of Hibiscus were inferior in height to the self-fertilised, in the ratio of 100 to 109, and yet they flowered before the self-fertilised in three out of the four pots. On the whole, there can be no doubt that the crossed plants exhibit a tendency to flower before the self-fertilised, almost though not quite so strongly marked as to grow to a greater height, to weigh more, and to be more fertile. ”

“ The Currijong-tree (Hibiscus heterophyllus?) was also occasionally seen growing in a granite soil, and more often in elevated than other situations: it has a lively appearance, more especially contrasted with the other trees around it; the bark is rough, greyish, thick, and spongy, and the wood is used by the aborigines for boats or canoes. There are two species indigenous to the colony; from the bark of one, if not of both, the natives manufacture durable rope for nets, &c., as the Polynesian islanders use the bark of another species of Hibiscus (H. Tiliaceus) for a similar purpose. ”

“ The Hibiscus (Marshmallow) is a perennial deserving much more general cultivation. Even to flower lovers it seems quite unknown, and yet it is cheaply and easily raised from seed, and one of the hardiest of our garden perennials. There are three varieties hardy in the North—an immense pure white blossom with a velvety crimson eye, a pale pink or flesh colour, and a lovely bright pink. These three are hardy in the open ground without protection, but they will be stronger plants and bloom more freely 108if protected with a little rough litter and hilled to shed water. ”

“ They float for months, and owe their buoyancy to a layer of air-bearing tissue between the kernel and the test, in this respect differing from the seeds of the littoral species, where the floating power is due to unoccupied space in the seed-cavity. The buoyancy of the seeds of Hibiscus Abelmoschus thus offers another example of ineffectual floating power, since it is not a littoral plant, is often cultivated, and has accompanied aboriginal man over much of the tropical zone. ”

“ There was a dense growth of wild hibiscus under the coconut palms, and as they chopped this away with axe and bush-knife, they took care to save the long straight poles which would be of use. Then each man selected the place for his house and set to work by himself. ”

“ The beauty and variety of hibiscus, croton, dracsena, acalypha, amaranthus, are surprising; no village is without its ornamental plants and flowers. In the Banks' Islands they know how to graft the various kinds of croton ”

“ A word about the selection of cuttings will not be amiss, as failure to choose wisely often results in the loss of the cutting, or in a poor or straggly plant. Quick, tender growths are not suitable for cuttings, except in the case of the Chinese Hibiscus, where the extreme tips are used for rooting; hard or woody growths are equally undesirable. ”

“ In disposition it is gentle and confiding, sensible in the highest degree of kindness, and eager for endearing attention, uttering a low plaintive cry when its sympathies are excited. It is particularly cleanly in its habits when domesticated, and spends much of its time in trimming its fur and carefully divesting its hair of particles of dust. Those which I kept at my house near Colombo were chiefly fed upon plantains and bananas, but for nothing did they evince a greater partiality than the rose-coloured flowers of the red hibiscus (H. rosa sinensis) . ”

“ He will have a Libidibi {314e} tree, too, for astringent medicine; and his hedge will be composed, if he be a man of taste—as he often seems to be—of Hibiscus bushes, whose magnificent crimson flowers contrast with the bright yellow bunches of the common Cassia, and the scarlet flowers of the Jumby-bead bush, {314f} and blue and white and pink Convolvuluses. ”

“ Hibiscus syriacus, 6 to 7 feet.
Hydrangea Hortensia (Common Hydrangea) , 4 to 8 feet; H. paniculata grandiflora, 4 to 8 feet. Pruned back hard before starting into growth in spring, this can be kept dwarf, and if liquid manure is given the heads of creamy-white flowers in early autumn are very fine.
Hypericum calycinum (Rose of Sharon) , 1 foot. Grows well under trees. H. moserianum, 2 feet.
Ilex Aquifolium (Common Holly) . A familiar and handsome evergreen tree. The best variegated varieties are Golden Queen, Handsworth Silver, and Silver Queen. I. crenata (Japanese Holly) . ”

“ Hibiscus.—Showy malvaceous plants. H. Moscheutos, rose-coloured, and H. palustris, purple, both North American herbs, 3 to 5 ft. high, are suitable for moist borders or for boggy places near the margin of lakes.
Iberis.—The Candytuft, of which several dwarf spreading subshrubby species are amongst the best of rock plants, clothing the surface with tufts of green shoots, and flowering in masses during May and June. The best are I. saxatilis, 6 to 10 in. ”

“ The tree, Hibiscus Abelmoschus, indigenous to Africa and India, bears fruit capsules containing reddish-gray seeds with39 grooved surface, so-called musk-seeds. They have an odor resembling musk, but much weaker, though it becomes more pronounced when the seeds are bruised. ”

“ Two young palms grew there about eight feet apart, the trunks of which would serve for the main supports of the structure. I hunted about in the forest until I found a reasonably straight stick, that would reach from one of these trees to the other, to serve as a ridgepole, and lashed it firmly to them with some of my cocoanut cord, about eight feet from the{31} ground. Then I brought hibiscus stalks, taking care to cut their butts diagonally. They were easily severed by a single blow. These stalks I set upright in the sand ”

“ The Head,Oo'po. A shorn Head,E'voua. The Head-ache, in consequence of drunkenness,Eana`neea. The sense of Hearing,Faro. The Heart of an animal,A'houtoo. Heat, warmth,Mahanna,hanna. Heavy, not light,Teima'ha. The sea Hedge-hog,Totera. A blue Heron,Otoo. A white Heron,Tra'pappa. To hew with an axe,Teraee. Hibiscus, the smallest species of Hibiscus, with rough seed cases, that adhere to the clothes in walking,Peere,peere. Hibiscus, a species of Hibiscus with large yellow flowers,Pooo'rou. ”