Don’t ask me why, but I have always thought of the hibiscus flower as a humble flower. Of course, I couldn’t be more wrong. The Hibiscus flower is anything but humble, as you will see by the end of the post. It is actually the national flower of Haiti, South Korea and neighbouring Malaysia.
According to Wikipedia, Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising several hundred species that are native to warm temperate, tropical, and semi-tropical regions throughout the world.
Apart from being a beautiful flower, there are apparently many health benefit of hibiscus. There is hibiscus tea, known for its red colour, tart flavour, and vitamin C content. And the petals can also be used to prepare a cold beverage by first steeping the petals in hot water until the colors are leached from the petals, then adding lime juice, sugar or honey, and finally water and ice cubes.
Besides that, dried hibiscus is also edible, and a delicacy in Mexico. It can also be candied and used as a garnish, usually for desserts.
It is also said that the Hibiscus cannabinus is extensively used in paper-making. And the inner bark of the sea hibiscus (hibiscus tiliaceus) is used for making rope.
As you can see, the hibiscus is anything but humble.
The hibiscus is very hardy, and it is easy to grow. Cut off a section of a branch, stick it in the soil and give it lots of water and it will reward you with many years of lovely flowers. There are many colours of hibiscus flower. Red is the more common one. There are also white, pink, yellow and orangey colours.
In my younger days, the ‘Hibiscus rosa-sinensis’ flower is the most commonly seen in the neighbourhood. I guess it is because they are hardy and easy to grow. Hibiscus is a perennial and flowers through the year.
The following are some varieties of hibiscus in Singapore.
A hibiscus bush or shrub.
This is a different variety of hibiscus, a nice one too.
This looks like another variety of Hibiscus, but I can't be sure. The leaves look a bit different. Anyone knows? Please drop a comment, if you do.
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