Individual Hibiscus flowers follow a plan of five, with five petals, five stigmas, five lobes to the calyx and the like. The stigma is branched into five parts and is usually a bright crystalline red, like a bit of coral at the top of the central column. Stamens grow on the sides of this column, yellowing it with their pollen. This central column is like the one seen in hollyhocks, a flower which is a relative of the Hibiscus. Usually it is stiffly upright, but sometimes it sweeps outward in a graceful curve. When this is the case it is good indication that the flower is a hybrid and had in its ancestry the Coral Hibiscus, which has a very long pendulous column.
Hibiscus also form double flowers, the pink ones sometimes suggesting old fashioned cabbage roses or peonies. They are formed when the stamens are modified into petals. Both single and double flowers appear in all hues but blue. Color tones vary from clear white through palest pink and yellow to glowing scarlet, orange and gold, deepening to richer tones and dark crimson. In recent years hybrids have been produced which bring several hues into a single flower, one with a red center, for instance, may have yellow petals bordered in pink. Some of these polychromes are more interesting than attractive. The size and shape of the flowers vary also. Average diameter of a blossom may be five or six inches but some are dwarfs of an inch, while selection has produced some a foot across. These large ones seem even more artificial than most of the Hibiscus, almost requiring to be touched before their reality is established.
The Hibiscus shrub is rather undistinguished in appearance, growing sometimes into a tall tree twenty feet high, but usually nearer eight or ten. The leaves are opposite, roundly pointed and often slightly scalloped.
The Hibiscus is the floral emblem of the Territory of Hawaii. It was so decided in 1923 by a joint resolution of the Legislature which designated it as “a beautiful, indigenous blossom which grows luxuriously on all the islands, appearing to be most generally representative, no other flower having so great a variety of color or form, or such continuous blooming.” Botanists point out that in making this statement the legislature conveniently overlooked the 150 or so species of Hibiscus which are not native of Hawaii, in favor of the six or seven which are. Hawaiians called the native blossoms “Kokio.”
There are two species of white Hibiscus native to Hawaii, the commonest being Hibiscus arnottianus Gray. It is found on Oahu and Molokai. During long periods of time this species grew in isolated areas in the islands until it developed varieties which appear to be quite different from each other. These are known by such names as the Tantalus White, the Waianae White, the Punaluu White and so on. Another native white Hibiscus is H. Waimeae called the Kauai White, (which may, however, be only a form of the other.) These two are the only ones of all the Hibiscus which are fragrant, having a faint, delicate scent. This characteristic has sometimes been transmitted to its descendents, so scented hybrids will occasionally be found. These native whites also remain open longer than the single day which most Hibiscus flowers live, Hibiscus Waimeae sometimes lasting even three days. Occasionally, therefore, a hybrid will also be found which stays fresh for several days. Both of these characteristics are sought by hybridists.
Other native species of Hibiscus are H. kokio, which occurs in red or coral colors on Hawaii, Oahu, Molokai and Maui. Hibiscus kahili grows on Kauai in several forms colored red or pink, although this may be a variation of H. kokio. H. brackenridgei is a yellow species, sometimes with a purplish center, growing on Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Maui, while H. youngianus is pink or purplish.
One of the best places to see many varieties of Hibiscus is the garden of the Halekulani Hotel. Mrs. Clifford Kimball has made the flower her hobby for years and achieved remarkable results.
COMMON RED HIBISCUS. CHINA ROSE
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linnaeus
The species of Hibiscus which seems to have the greatest number of variants is, botanically, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, sometimes called the China Rose. The type flower is scarlet, usually with a deeper colored throat and about five inches in diameter. It is the one oftenest seen in hedges, since the shrub serves admirably for this purpose.
These plants seem to have innumerable variations in color and shape, the former running in hue from yellow to crimson and appearing in both single and double forms. In fact, it seems that most of the plants brought into Hawaii, which were not themselves hybrids, were forms of rosa-sinensis. Although, most of these imported forms have usually been classed as variants of rosa-sinensis, it is now believed that many of them were hybrids. The remarkable variation which occurs when these forms are crossed points to a mixed ancestry. ([Plate I])