Among the most beautiful and sought after Hibiscus are those with yellow or orange blossoms. The range of tone is wide, the colors appearing from palest lemon to rich yellow, gold and brilliant orange. The yellow flowering plants are usually rather small and carry only a few blossoms at a time. ([Plate I])
ROSE OF SHARON. ALTHEA
Hibiscus syriacus, Linnaeus
A close relative of the true Hibiscus is the lavender or white Althea or Rose of Sharon. The central column is white and the center of the flower usually dark red. It is a native of Syria and the Holy Land. ([Plate I])
TURK’S CAP
Malvaviscus arboreus Cavanilles
Another close relative of the true Hibiscus is the little red Turk’s Cap. This looks like a small Hibiscus flower which has not opened. It never does open widely, but sometimes the number of the half furled flowers is so great the shrub appears quite red from them. ([Plate I])
Other relatives of the Hibiscus are the Hau tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus) and the changeable mallow, (Hibiscus mutabilis) not to mention the Okra and Roselle among edible plants.
Chapter II
THE BLOSSOMING TREES
Hawaii’s most impressive floral displays are the flowering trees which line the streets and fill the gardens. They rival, in the masses of their flowers, the fruit trees of the mainland, but they possess colorings of tropical brilliance which have no rivals outside of warm countries. Moreover, instead of blooming for a few brief days, or at most, weeks, these trees continue in bloom for months at a time. Some of them never cease. About the middle of June, there is a period when the display is at its best. This is when all the shower trees are out, the early ones still lingering, the later ones coming on, and when the red of the Poinciana, and the blue of the Jacaranda, add their hues to the galaxy of yellows and pinks. At this time, too, the Plumerias bring white and rose to the scene. Midwinter finds most of these gone, but the African Tulip flowers are then a fiery crown on many trees and some trees, like the canary colored Be-still, continue their flowering all the year round.