Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia
Introduction

Protologue: Sp. pl. 2: 694 (1753).

Vernacular names

China rose, shoeflower (En).
Rose de Chine (Fr)
Indonesia: kembang sepatu (Indonesian), wora-wari (Javanese), waribang (Balinese)
Papua New Guinea: wavu wavu (Hula, Central Province), banban (Hisiu, Central Province), hangarou (Keregia, Morobe Province)
Philippines: gumamela, antolangan (Tagalog), kayanga (Iloko)
Cambodia: dok mai
Laos: kokdok may chiey
Thailand: chabaa (central), baa (peninsular), mai daeng (northern)
Vietnam: bông bụp, dâm bụt, hồng cận.

Distribution

Cultivated throughout the world as an ornamental, in the tropics and subtropics in the open, often for hedges. The origin is uncertain, but possibly from East Africa.

Uses

The leaves and flowers are used to ripen boils and ulcers, and in general as an antiseptic. The flowers and bark are considered to have emmenagogic, galactagogue, purgative, even abortifacient properties. In Papua New Guinea, the roots are washed and chewed to treat diarrhoea.

Observations

An erect, much branched, glabrous shrub, 1-4 m tall.
Leaves ovate, 7-12 cm long, margins coarsely toothed, upper surface glossy.
Epicalyx with 7-9 linear lobes, calyx 2 cm long, bell-shaped, with ovate lobes; flowers about 10 cm in diameter, petals normally red, sometimes orange or white, staminal tube slender and longer than the corolla, red, anthers yellow, stigma red.

H. rosa-sinensis has an enormous polymorphism, and several varieties have been recognized. H. schizopetalus (Mast.) Hook.f., with finely dissected petals, is possibly just a cultivar of H. rosa-sinensis.

Selected sources

[143] Cambie, R.C. & Ash, J., 1994. Fijian medicinal plants. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Canberra, Australia. 350 pp.
[215] Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, 1948—1976. The wealth of India: a dictionary of Indian raw materials & industrial products. 11 volumes. Publications and Information Directorate, New Delhi, India.
[407] Heyne, K., 1950. De nuttige planten van Indonesië [The useful plants of Indonesia]. 3rd Edition. 2 volumes. W. van Hoeve, 's-Gravenhage, the Netherlands/Bandung, Indonesia. 1660 + CCXLI pp.
[530] Kholkute, S.D., Mudgal, V. & Udupa, K.N., 1977. Studies on the anti-fertility potentiality of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, parts of medicinal value, selection of species and seasonal variation. Planta Medica 31(1): 35—39.
[531] Kholkute, S.D. & Udupa, K.N., 1976. Effects of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis on pregnancy of rats. Planta Medica 29(3): 321—329.
[684] Mohamed, S., Saka, S., El Sharkawy, S.H., Ali, A.M. & Muid, S., 1996. Antimycotic screening of 58 Malaysian plants against plant pathogens. Pesticide Science 47(3): 259—264.
[788] Pételot, A., 1952—1954. Les plantes médicinales du Cambodge, du Laos et du Vietnam [The medicinal plants of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam]. 4 volumes. Centre National de Recherches Scientifiques et Techniques, Saigon, Vietnam.
[810] Quisumbing, E., 1978. Medicinal plants of the Philippines. Katha Publishing Co., Quezon City, the Philippines. 1262 pp.
[908] Shimizu, N., Tomoda, M., Suzuki, I. & Takada, K., 1993. Plant mucilages. XLIII. A representative mucilage with biological activity from the leaves of H. rosa-sinensis. Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin 16(8): 735—739.

Main genus page

Hibiscus (Medicinal plants)

Authors

Undang A. Dasuki