Hibiscus vitifolius L.
H. heterotrichus DC., Fioria vitifolia (L.) Mattei , Abelmoschus vitifolius (L.) Hassk.
Eng.: Grape Leaved Mallow. Ara. (Egypt): Riba hamboak.
Shrub or perennial herbaceous plant, up to 1(1.6) m in height, with a dense tomentum of stellate hairs, with rigid and long glandular hairs, tuberculated at the base, especially in the stems. Stems erect, branched. Lower leaves not lobed, upper leaves 3-5-lobed; leaf blade 3-7(10) cm, ovate-cordate, dentate-serrated, with cordate base, acute apex. Petiole 2-8(12) cm. Stipules 3-5 mm, filiform, caducous. Flowers 5.5-7 cm in diameter, axillary, solitary; pedicel 1-3 cm. Epicalyx with 9-12 parts, 0.8-1.2 cm, subulate. Calyx 1.5-2 cm, with triangular-lanceolate lobes, acute, elongated and accrescent in fruit. Petals c. 4 × 2.5 cm, obovate, yellow with a garnet centre. Staminal column 1.5-2 cm. Fruit in 1-1.5 cm capsule, subglobose, villous, 5-winged; wings transversely striated, finely covered with short bristles along the veins and margins. Seeds 2.5 mm, reniform, tuberculated.
Flowering:
After rainfall, in autumn-winter towards the coast of the Red Sea.
Fruiting:
In winter within the study area.
Habitat:
Forests, savannahs, degraded thickets, ditches, often in alluvial sands, and crops. It is found from coastal areas up to 3,000 m in altitude.
Distribution:
Tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, Australia. In Africa it reaches to the N through Sudan to the SE of Egypt.
Conservation status:
Fairly rare species but widely distributed. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.