Phymosia umbellata

Phymosia umbellata | Mexican Bush Mallow, Fimosia, Malva Aparasolada

Malva umbellata and Sphaeralcea umhellatais are nomenclatural synonyms. It is believed that the Genus Phymosia has a close relationship to the North American Iliamna and Malacothamnus. As the common name suggests, this species is native to Mexico (as well as other parts of Central America). The Mexican Bush Mallow has large, grayish green leaves reminiscent of Hibiscus mutabilis. 7.5cm red flowers cover this evergreen shrub or small tree that can reach up to 4m with an equal spread. Hummingbirds love this plant! Position in good, well-drained soil in sun or partial shade. The Mexican Bush Mallow can take light frost in mild climates.

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Reference: Hábitat. En bosques perennifolios húmedos y bosques caducifolios. Es posible que su presencia en el Valle de Tehuacán-Cuicatlán sea resultado de un proceso de naturalización, debido a que todas las colecciones provienen de orlllas de caminos y otras lugares perturbados muy cercanos a lugares habitados.

Translation: Habitat. In wet evergreen forests and deciduous woodlands. It is possible that their presence in the Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley is the result of the process of naturalization, because all the collections come from the edge of roads and other disturbed sites near inhabited areas.

   Flora del Valle de Tehuacán-cuicatlán
   By Paul A. Fryxell
   Published by Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, 1993

Robinsonella cordata

Robinsonella cordata with stunning lavender-blue flowers

Robinsonella cordata | Heartleaf Robinsonella, Tree Mallow

There are approximately 21 species in this genus, named after Dr. B.L. Robinson, Curator of Harvard's Gray Herbarium in the 1890s. Robinsonella cordata is a central American tree up to 13m tall, found in various locations from southern Mexico to Guatemala. It can be found growing naturally in gullies mainly in deciduous and mixed forests, at elevations up to 1900m. The small lavender flowers (sometimes more pale to white) are borne in clusters, usually from February through April in the natural range.

Historical Information: Robinsonella cordata was originally introduced to California by an Italian horticulturalist named Francesco Franceschi who obtained seed from Guatemala. In 1893, Franceschi established a nursery in Santa Barbara, that specialized in the introduction exotic plants to California —there may even still be a Robinsonella tree at Franceschi Park in Santa Barbara.

Robinsonella cordata
A rare pink-flowered form grown from seed.

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Historical Reference: Robinsonella cordata. Specimens representing this species were collected by Professor C. Conzatti on the hacienda de Guadalupe, Oaxaca, Mexico, altitude 1600m., December 6, 1908. Professor Conzatti's specimens are in full flower, but the leaves are not entirely expanded, thus giving at first glance a very different appearance from the type specimens secured by Dr. Pringle in 1895. In all essential characters there is exact correspondence. This collection records a second known locality for this very distinct and showy species.

   Publication By Field Columbian Museum
   Published by The Museum, 1916

Historical Reference: Robinsonella cordata. (Rebsamenia arborea) Conzatti. Dr. T. H. Kearney recently wrote to the senior author of the present paper, inquiring about the identity of the genus Rebsamenia, which, although described as a tree, is not mentioned in Trees and Shrubs of Mexico, having been overlooked by the author. As described, Rebsamenia consisted of a single species, based upon a collection by V. Gonzalez and C. Conzatti from Cerro de San Felipe, Oaxaca, Mexico, March 7, 1898. Conzatti's description is sufficiently ample, its most significant phrases indicating that the plant described is a tree and that its flowers are blue, which among Mexican Malvaceae can apply only to the genus Robinsonella, described by Rose and Baker in 1897. In her excellent monograph of Robinsonella (Journ. Arnold Arb. 12: 49. 1931) Mrs. Eva M. Fling Rousch does not mention Rebsamenia, but it is clear that this is referable to Robinsonella cordata, which is cited there (p. 58) as having been collected on Cerro de San Felipe by Gonzalez and Conzatti March 7, 1898 (no. 671). This no. 671 is doubtless the type collection of Rebsamenia cordata

   Studies of Central American Plants VII
   Published by Paul C. Standley
   October 22, 1947

Robinsonella discolor

Robinsonella discolor | Jonote, Jonote Amargoso

Robinsonella discolor is a small tree to 12m high, found in northeastern Mexico (states of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Hidalgo). This tree is typically found growing at elevations from 300-1100m in humid locations of deciduous tropical forest, sub-deciduous tropical forest (i.e. similar to but not strictly deciduous tropical forest), as well as in oak woods. The small white flowers occur in profusion anytime from January through April. Although not common, this species is relatively frequent in the extreme north-east of the state of Querétaro. For this reason, and its occurrence in some secondary communities, it is not considered vulnerable to extinction.

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Historical Reference: Robinsonella discolor. Tree 6 to 9m. high, glabrous, with brownish gray cortex; leaves ovate, cuspidate, subacuminate, blunt at the apex, cordate or subcordate at base, sometimes unequal-sided, 4 to 5 cm. long, 2.5 to nearly 4 cm. broad, on petioles 1 to 1.5 cm. long, discolorous (covered with a line but dense tomentum), green above, canesccut below; sepals ovate; petals white, 7 mm. long; fruit borne on pedicels, often about 2 cm. long toward the extremities of short lateral branchlets and at the apex; pedicels articulated about the middle, solitary or in pairs; calyx about two-thirds the length of the carpels; sepals ovate, acute, puberulous; carpels about 12, stellately hairy, especially on the back, not quite 1 cm. long; seed dark brown, subtriangular, hairy in parts.
Collected by Mr. C. G. Pringle on limestone hills, Las Palinas, San Luis Potosi, altitude 90 meters, April 27, 1894 (No. 5767), and March 2, 1899 (No. 8007).

This species differs from R. cordata in not having villous petioles, in the color and character of the pubescence on the leaves, etc. Subscribers to Mr. Pringle's elegant sets of Mexican plants will doubtless find it in this year's distribution. Mr. Pringle states that this species is a slender tree found on the mountains of eastern San Luis Potosi, thence to Tampico.

Adding this species to those described in Garden and Forest for Juno, 1897, the genus will now consist of R. cordata, R. divergens, R. lindeniana, and R. discolor. The type of tho last named will be found in the U. S. National Herbarium, Washington.

Fragments of still another species have recently been sent to Mr. Rose from Honduras, and while there is no question as to its generic position and its distinctness from the four other species, yet it seems best to withhold it until further material has come to light. Collectors in Central America and curators of Herbaria will confer a great favor if they can communicate any material which will help us diagnose this species fully.

   Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Volume 5
   Published by Smithsonian Institution Press, 1901

Robinsonella lindeniana

Robinsonella lindeniana | Linden Robinsonella, Chaqueta de Novia, Mano de León, Manzanillo

Robinsonella lindeniana is a small shrub or tree 6 to 9m tall, endemic to parts of Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. It can be found growing naturally on uncultivated land (in high evergreen forest, oak woodland and secondary deciduous or scrub vegetation) and on charrales —old pasture land in process of forest regeneration. Leaves are deeply to shallowly 3- or 5-lobed, somewhat pubescent on the underside, more sparsely on top. It is characterized by showy white flowers with delicate purple veining. The inflorescence is a large panicle of small flowers up to 1.2cm. with flowering occurring from November to January. This plant is striking while in bloom, but at other times of the year it passes unnoticed. In its native range it has not been used as an ornamental, but could be used as such.

Robinsonella lindeniana ssp. divergens (formerly Robinsonella edentula) differs from the typical variety in being generally treelike and having leaves moderately 3-lobed or unlobed, with inflorescence that are more congested. It occurs in Chiapas, found in evergreen forest and pine-oak-liquidamber forest.

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Historical Reference: TWO SPECIES OF ROBINSONELLA. Robinsonella edentula Smith & Rose, Bot. Gaz. 37: 214. 1904. Undoubtedly a shrub or small tree with branches and leaves, pedicels and buds, etc., stellate-pubescent; leaves nearly orbicular in outline, somewhat 3-lobed, the lobes acute, obtuse or even rounded, entire or with faint indications of teeth, slightly pubescent above, softly stellate pubescent beneath, 6 to 10 cm. long, with a deep rather narrow sinus; flowers very abundant in axillary panicles; peduncles slender, pilose as well as stellate, 8 to 16 mm. long, jointed near the apex; corolla violet, 2 cm. broad; staminal tube very abort; carpels 7 mm. long, obtuse with thin reticulated walls. Collected by H. von Turckheim at Coban, Department of Alto Verapaz, Guatemala, altitude 1,300 meters, November, 1902. Nearest R. divergens, but with less densely stellate branches, leaves with entire margins, shorter staminal tube, less densely pubescent ovaries, much smaller carpels, and pilose pedicels.

   Contributions from the United States National Herbarium, Volume 8
   Published by Smithsonian Institution Press, 1905

Ruizia cordata

Ruizia cordata | Bois de senteur, Bois de chanteur, Bois de chanteur blanc, Sweet-scented Whitewood

Ruizia is an endangered, monotypic genus from Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean. It is closely related to genera such as Dombeya, Trochetia, Astiria, Helmiopsis and Helmiopsiella. The genus was named after the Spanish botanist Hipólito Ruiz (1754-1816).

Ruizia cordata is a small tree to 10m. The foliage of Ruizia is heterophyllous (variable) ―juvenile plants are markedly different from the adult plants. This resulted in several synonyms for the species, including Ruizia lobata, Ruizia laciniata and Ruizia variabilis. The plant flowers before reaching maturity. The inflorescence is 5-10cm long, bearing 7-15 pink flowers; Male flowers are about 1cm in diameter, female flowers are slightly smaller.

The xerophilous Ruizia cordata was once abundant in the the dry, low altitude areas of Réunion as well as on the semi-dry forest slopes. In the past, it was the dominant species of these regions but up until a few years ago, this species was still endangered and was actually believed to be extinct until it was rediscovered. In 1998 only 2 plants remained in the wild, but it has now been reintroduced into the wild by the Conservatoire Botanique des Mascarins. A number of trees are also in cultivation at the McBryde Garden of the National Tropical Botanical Garden on Kauai, Hawaii.

Local beliefs played a major role in pushing Ruizia cordata to the brink of extinction. Bark as well as other parts of the tree were believed to have magical medicinal properties and were sought after by local herb-doctors for their purported curative powers. Local traditional medicine used it to treat a number of diseases as well as to chase away evil spirits.

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Historical Reference: RUIZIA. The name given to a few shrubs of the Sterculiaceae found in the Island of Bourbon, and closely related to Dmnbeya or Astrapæa, but differing in all the twenty stamens of the flowers being anther-bearing, as well as in their ten-celled ovary. The four species are named respectively palmata, lobata, cordata, and dissecta, from their palmate or maple-like, lobed heart-shaped or dissected leaves, which are stalked alternate and downy underneath. The white or rosy flowers, somewhat like miniature mallows, are disposed In axillary stalked cymes, each flower having a five-parted calyx with two bracts at its base; five oblong clawed petals ; twenty stamens; and a ten-celled ovary crowned with ten short styles. The fruits are ten celled globular capsules with two seeds In each cell. The name of Dr. Hlppolite Ruiz, an eminent Spanish botanist and traveller in Peru and Chile, is perpetuated in this genus.

   The treasury of botany: a popular dictionary of the vegetable kingdom
   By ‪John Lindley‬, ‪Thomas Moore‬
   Published by Longmans, Green, and co., 1874

Talipariti archboldianum

Talipariti archboldianum

Talipariti archboldianum (Basionyms: Hibiscus archboldianus Borssum Waalkes, Hibiscus lepidotus Borssum Waalkes) is endemic to the island of New Guinea, and is one of the few Talipariti species with large pink or red flowers (Talipariti ellipticifolium is another). The rose-pink petals are up to 10cm long, and 3.5cm wide. Only Talipariti elatum (with yellow to orange-red flowers) has petals of comparable size. Talipariti archboldianum is a sub-canopy tree up to 50m tall, found growing naturally from lowlands to montane rain forests at elevations up to 2400m (Papua New Guinea has a variety of terrestrial ecosystems including five types of lowland rainforest and 13 types of montane rainforest). Formerly known as Hibiscus archboldianus, this and a group of 22 closely related species in the genus Hibiscus were reclassified by Malvaceae taxonomist Paul A. Fryxell into the new genus Talipariti.

Historical Information: Talipariti archboldianum was named after Richard Archbold (1907-1976), heir to early fortunes of the Standard Oil Company. Archbold became an internationally renowned aviator and explorer. From 1929 to 1939, in affiliation with the American Museum of Natural History, he organized, supported, and led four biological expeditions. The first was to Madagascar and then three to the interior of New Guinea. These expeditions are still famous for their comprehensiveness and significance to science.

Talipariti elatum

Talipariti elatum | Blue Mahoe, Mountain Mahoe, Majagua, Majó, Cuban Bast

Over the last 200 years Talipariti elatum has been known by a variety of names including Paritium elatum, Hibiscus tiliaceus ssp. elatus, and more recently Hibiscus elatus. Originally from Cuba and Jamaica (where it is the national tree), it has now been introduced into other parts of the Caribbean, Florida and Hawaii.

This beautiful tree grows up to 30m tall, with a trunk sometimes reaching 1m in daimeter. Flower petals are up to 12cm long. Upon opening, flowers are bright yellow, but as the day progresses, they deepen to an orange-red color. Talipariti elatum, can be distinguished from other Talipariti by its larger flowers, and decidious calyx.

The species name elatum refers to the stature of this tree. The common name, Blue Mahoe, refers to the beautiful bluish tone of its durable wood (also with greenish and grayish overtones), historically used in furniture making, carvings, stringed instruments, and for other uses.

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Historical Reference: Hibiscus elatus. BLUE OR MOUNTAIN MAHOE. CUBA BAST. Native of West Indies. A tree, 50 to 60 feet with roundish leaves and large flowers of a purplish-snffron color. (See fig. 62.)

BAST FIBER.-A specimen of the fiber from Demerara, sent to the Department in 1863, was described as very strong but coarse and suitable for making cordage, coffee bags, etc. "The fibers make good ropes. The lace-like inner bark was at one time known as Cuba bark (Cuba bast), from its being used as the material for tying around bundles of Havana cigars" (Fawcett). A small quantity of fiber known comercially as Cuba bast or Guana comes to this country, though latterly the supply is very small owing to the revolutionary troubles in Cuba. Messrs. Flint, Eddy & Co., the New York importers, have furnished information concerning it as follows:

The process of gathering entails the destruction of the tree, which is cut down, the bark peeled off, exposing the fiber, which is separated from the bark and spread out in the sun to dry,and subsequently packed in bales containing 150 pounds, or thereabouts. There are two or three grades of it, ranging in price from 25 to 75 cents per pound, the more desirable grades being the lighter and softer textures. It is used extensively in this country and Europe for making women's hats and millinery trimmings, such as braids, etc. Its porousness makes it very desirable for the above purpose, as it readily absorbs a dye without impairing its texture. We understand that it is also used to some extent in Europe for making hammock twine, narrow strips of it twisted into the form of twine having considerable tensile strength. In using it for millinery purposes it is slit into narrow strips and then woven, twisted, braided, etc.

   A descriptive catalogue of useful fiber plants of the world
   United States Dept. of Agriculture Issue 9
   United States. Dept. of Agriculture, 1897


Historical Reference: Hibiscus elatus Swartz. Prodromus Descriptionum Vegetabilium India Occidentalis, 1788. p. 102. Paritium elatum G. DON, General History of the Dichlamydeous Plants. I. 1831. P. 485.

A tree about twenty feet high, growing in the swamp at the western base of Mt. Colombo, May 12, 1910, 0.E. Jennings, No. 265. General Distribution: Cuba, the Isle of Pines, Jamaica, southern Mexico, Guiana, and probably the West Indies and tropical continental America generally.

There is a difference of opinion among botanists as to the distinctness of Hibiscus tiliaceus and Hibiscus elatus, a number of leading botanists having treated them as one and the same species. The writer has not investigated the subject to any great extent but the evidence indicates two distinct species.

   Contributions to the natural history of the Isle of Pines, Cuba
   United States Dept. of Agriculture Issue 9
   Pub. by authority of the Board of trustees of the Carnegie institute, 1917

Talipariti glabrum

Talipariti glabrum | Mountain Hao, Mountain Haw Tree, テリハハマボウ (Terihahamabo)

Hibiscus glaber is a synonym of Talipariti glabrum. Found in the Okinawa island group, Talipariti glabrum is a branching shrub up 3m tall (10 ft). It is similar to Talipariti tiliaceum (Hibiscus tiliaceus) or Sea Hibiscus, differing mainly in leaf and petal formation. It is also closely related to Talipariti hamabo (Hibiscus hamabo). The heart-shaped leaves of T. glabrum are a medium green in contrast to the 7-8cm bright yellow flowers. Flowers have a purple/red basal spot and deepen to orange as they age. Like Talipariti tiliaceum, this plant does well in coastal locations exposed to salty air and winds. It prefers full sun and rich, well-drained soil, and makes a good specimen bush or a hedge. Blooms in the summer and fall. Propagation is typically through hardwood cuttings in late spring. There is reputedly a variation of T. glabrum with larger, deep purplish brown foliage, although this may be the result of confusion with a variety of Talipariti tilliaceus.

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Reference: Two woody Hibiscus species co-occur in the Bonin Islands of the northwestern Pacific Ocean: Hibiscus glaber Matsum. is endemic to the islands, and its putative ancestral species, Hibiscus tiliaceus L., is widely distributed in coastal areas of the tropics and subtropics. To infer isolating mechanisms that led to speciation of H. glaber and the processes that resulted in co-occurrence of the two closely related species on the Bonin Islands, we conducted molecular phylogenetic analyses on chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) sequences. Materials collected from a wide area of the Pacific and Indian Oceans were used, and two closely related species, Hibiscus hamabo Siebold Zucc. and Hibiscus macrophyllus Roxb., were also included in the analyses. The constructed tree suggested that H. glaber has been derived from H. tiliaceus, and that most of the modern Bonin populations of H. tiliaceus did not share most recent ancestry with H. glaber. Geographic isolation appears to be the most important mechanism in the speciation of H. glaber. The co-occurrence of the two species can be attributed to multiple migrations of different lineages into the islands. While a wide and overlapping geographical distribution of haplotypes was found in H. tiliaceus, localized geographical distribution of haplotypes was detected in H. glaber. It is hypothesized that a shift to inland habitats may have affected the mode of seed dispersal from ocean currents to gravity and hence resulted in geographical structuring of H. glaber haplotypes.

   Origin and diversification of Hibiscus glaber, Koji Takayama
   Molecular Ecology, Volume 14 Issue 4, June 2004

Talipariti hamabo

Talipariti hamabo | Yellow Hibiscus, 海滨木槿 (Hai Bin Mu Jin), ハマボウ (Hama-bou)

Talipariti hamabo is also known as Hibiscus hamabo, and is closely related to Talipariti glabrum (Hibiscus glaber) and Talipariti tiliaceum (Hibiscus tiliaceus). The common Chinese name is 海滨木槿 (hai bin mu jin). The common name in Japanese, ハマボウ (hama-bou) may possibly be derived from Hama-hau which means 'beach prostrating'. Hibiscus hamabo grows in salt marsh habitats in southwestern Japan; Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa, Bonin and Ryukyu Islands. It can also be found in Korea and China on coastal beaches. This is a branching decidious shrub up to 4.5m tall (15 ft). Single yellow flowers with a crimson spot at the base appear throughout summer. Taliparit1 hamabo was first described in Japanese horticultural books (Ito -1695) and later described and illustrated in the 'Honzo-sho' herbal. This species is not to be confused with the similarly named Hibiscus syriacus 'Hamabo'. From a photograpic perspective, the flowers often have the annoying habit of facing downward, making it necessary to photograph from below. Hence, the blue sky is seen in my photo. :-)

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Historical Reference: Hibiscus hamabo, a deciduous plant of the order Malvaceae growing wild along the sea coasts in warm provinces. Its stem attains to a height of about 10 ft. Early in summer, it blooms at the top of the branches and in the axils of the leaves. The flowers are like those of cotton, with yellow petals, purple at the base. A strong fibre is got from the bark, and is used as a rope.

   Useful Plants of Japan: Described and Illustrated
   By Dai Nihon Nōkai
   Published by Agricultural Society of Japan, 1895

Talipariti tiliaceum

Talipariti tiliaceum | Mahoe, Beach Hibiscus, Sea Hibiscus, Coastal Cottonwood, Algodoeiro da Praia, Linden Hibiscus, 黄槿 Huang Jin

Talipariti tiliaceum is found on the shores of the Pacific and Indian oceans and is cultivated or naturalised throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. It is grown mainly as an ornamental tree for landscaping, although its wood, bark and flowers have been used for various purposes. It is known by several common names, including 'Cotton-tree' or 'Cottonwood' (Australia), 'Purau' (Tahiti), 'Vau' (Fiji), 'Hau' (Hawaii) and 'Mahoe'. Still widely known as Hibiscus tiliaceus, this species will eventually be known as Talipariti tiliaceum. A group of 22 closely related species in the genus Hibiscus (including Hibiscus tiliaceus), were reclassified by Malvaceae taxonomist Paul A. Fryxell into the new genus Talipariti.

Talipariti tiliaceum can attain a height of up to 8-10 m (26'-32') and can grow as wide if not pruned. In its natural range it can be found near watercourses, mangrove swamps and estuaries, frequently forming impenetrable thickets and covering very large areas along coastlines. It can withstands brackish water and is tolerant of salt spray, therefore it is an excellent species for coastal areas. The trees are very ornamental, with large heart-shaped leaves and dense foliage.

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Historical Reference: But of all Australian species of Hibiscus, H. tiliaceus of the Richmond River, near the coast, and coastal Queensland, has received most attention as a fibre plant. It is found in most tropical countries. The fibre was used by the aborigines for nets and fishing- lines. Some fibre produced in this Colony was pronounced by the jurors of the London International Exhibition of 1862 to be only fit for paper-making. It must have been crudely prepared, as the tree produces a good fibre in many parts of the world. Three or four years ago the Department of Agriculture of Queensland sent to London some fibre from the Daintree River, for report. The fibre "was roughly prepared by boiling in soda-lye, and rubbing with an old sack." The report was, " Good colour, moderately soft, but of no great strength, and fit only for jute purposes. It would, however, probably sell in large quantities, and we estimate the value to-day at £12 to £14 per ton in London.

   The Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales
   By New South Wales
   Vol. V. Part 1. January, 1894