Illustrated capital
What is that flower seen everywhere, you may ask, the one with five, stiff, papery petals, and a column rising in the center? Such blossoms are seen tumbling in cascades of pink from small trees, spangling hedges with red polka dots and decorating green shrubs in an artificial way, looking like something designed for an old-fashioned stage set.
The answer, of course, is Hibiscus, Hawaii’s own flower, and the outstanding flower of all the South Seas. You will see these blossoms worn in the hair of Hawaiian women, or tucked over the ear of Samoan men when they dance the native siva-siva. You will find them strewn down the length of leaf-covered tables prepared for a native feast or laid out in colorful exhibition on counters of staid Island banking houses. You may run into them formed into huge fountaining bouquets, the flower heads fastened to long, artificial stems, or, at shows and entertainments, you may see them covering walls and other objects solidly.
All these uses and more are possible because the Hibiscus possesses the unique trait of not wilting for a day after it is picked. These flowers open at dawn and live but a single day. Whether they be left on the shrub, picked and put in water, or laid out dry on a table top, they remain fresh and crisp until nightfall, when they suddenly close. Fresh buds open every day, so the Hibiscus is always in bloom.
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)
CORAL HIBISCUS
Hibiscus schizopetalus Hooker
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. It is tall and slender, almost vine-like, so that it has been used to make arbors. The Coral Hibiscus has been a parent of many island hybrids, imparting to them its grace, its lengthened column and its frilled petals. (Plate I)
HAWAIIAN INTEREST IN HIBISCUS
While the Hawaiians had always loved their flower and the Common Red seems to have been brought in at an early date, probably direct from China, real interest in Hibiscus culture began about the turn of the century. Around 1902, Walter M. Giffard began crossing different strains and getting some of the spectacular results for which this plant is noted. Interest grew and as Island people traveled, they often sent or brought home new varieties. One of the persons who became interested in the plant was Gerrit Wilder, who seems to have held the first Hibiscus show. This was in 1914, and he was able then to exhibit some 400 different varieties. In the years following, interest was very widespread and many people made crosses, until there were literally thousands of different forms and colors.
HYBRIDS
Crossing is very easy. The pollen of one flower is dabbled on the pistil of another, after its own pollen has been removed. Precautions are taken to keep the bees from stepping into the experiment, by protecting the crossed flower with a bag. The seeds ripen in a month or so and when planted may be expected to blossom in about a year.
The outcome is a grab bag of mixed and unexpected characteristics. By selection and care, some hybrids have been produced that are amazing. New shades and tints come into being, and mixtures of colors. Doubles become larger and curlier. No one knows how many thousands of these hybrids have been produced in Hawaii. 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 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. As a rule, it is the only one of all the Hibiscus plants that carries enough color to be outstandingly conspicuous in the garden. On others, the flowers are scattered. (Plate I)
YELLOW HIBISCUS
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.
