Hibiscus

Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis (known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant) is a cultigen of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibiscus genus and Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is an artificial hybrid created in cultivation during the pre-Columbian era by Polynesians in the west Pacific from the species Hibiscus cooperi and H. kaute (native to Vanuatu and French Polynesia, respectively). It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics. The hibiscus is the national flower of Malaysia, where it holds official status, and is also considered the unofficial national flower of Haiti.

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