Hawaii’s love affair with the hibiscus is long and ongoing. Back in the 1920s it was declared the official territorial flower, and in 1988, the native yellow hibiscus (Hibiscus brackenridgei), whose Hawaiian name is “Pua Aloalo,” became the official state flower.
Ironically, this lovely species became endangered as its wild habitat shrank. The Hawaiian legislature had passed a law meant to protect endangered species that prohibited private citizens from gathering or cultivating them. The fear was that people would dig up wild plants, reducing the populations, but it also kept the plant out of private gardens. Now, licensed nurseries can sell both seeds and plants of the Pua Aloalo, helping save it while at the same time allowing everyone to enjoy its beauty.
The Popular Hibiscus
This beautiful flower comes in more than 200 species native to the tropics, with five species found only in Hawaii. The plants of the various kinds range from small annuals that live only a year to small perennial trees that continue to bloom for many years.
You can see hibiscus of all colors, including bicolors, growing in abundance on all the islands. Hibiscus is used as an ornamental garden specimen, a foundation plant around homes, or as a dense hedge along the sidewalk.
The hibiscus is so associated in people’s minds with Hawaii that it is a favorite to include in the patterns on many, perhaps most, aloha shirts.
Flower Form and Variety
Familiar hibiscus species have five petals. The flowers are recognizable by their long central pistil, which ends in five little stalks topped by flat sticky areas where pollen lands. The pollen-bearing stamens surround the middle of the pistil like a bright yellow cloud. The ornamental hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) is the most familiar species in Hawaii. It comes in thousands of varieties in red, yellow, white, orange, lavender, pink, and even brown, sometimes with two-toned flowers that may be as big as a dinner plate. The origins of this delightful species are lost in time, and hybrids with a number of other species have increased both its variety of form and color and its ability to survive a more varied climate.
If you get a chance, watch a hibiscus flower unfold. The petals form a bud with a spiral form, and as the flower unfolds, the spirals gradually release as if rotating in slow motion. Each flower lasts only one day, but the plant produces so many that there are always abundant blossoms.
More distant relatives of the hibiscus in the mallow family include some surprises such as cocoa, cotton, and okra.
References
Howie, Jim (1980) Hibiscus--Queen of the Flowers
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