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Hibiscus sabdariffa
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Family:
MALVACEAE
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Citation: Hibiscus sabdariffa L., Sp. Pl. 695. 1753; Gamble, Fl. Pres. Madras 99(71). 1915; Manilal & Sivar., Fl. Calicut 47. 1982; Babu, Fl. Malappuram Dist. 61. 1990; T.K. Paul in B.D. Sharma & Sanjappa, Fl. India 3: 391. 1993; Sivar. & Pradeep, Malvac. Southern Peninsular India 114. 1996; Sivar. & Mathew, Fl. Nilambur 84. 1997; Mohanan & Sivad., Fl. Agasthyamala 97. 2002; M. Mohanan & A.V.N. Rao in P. Daniel, Fl. Kerala 1: 421. 2005; Sunil & Sivadasan, Fl. Alappuzha Dist. 120. 2009.
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Malayalam Name(s):
Mathipuli, Papuli, Polechi, Puichchai
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Tamil name(s):
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English name(s):
Rosella, Jamaican sorrell, Red sorrel, Red tea
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Description:
Unarmed, erect shrub, to 3 m high; stems glabrous or sparsely pubescent, green or reddish purple. Leaves 4-11 x 0.5-1.5 cm, polymorphic, entire or palmately 3-5 fid, partite or lobed; midlobe lanceolate or oblong, longer than the rest, cuneate at base, serrate at margin, acute at apex, glabrous; midnerve with a nectary at base beneath, reddish purple or green. Petioles 2-8 cm long, green or reddish purple; stipules linear-subulate, ca 1.5 cm long. Flowers axillary, solitary or in racemose panicles by reduction of upper leaves. Pedicels 1.5-2 cm long, jointed near base, glabrous. Epicalyx lobes 8-12, adnate to base of calyx, lanceolate to oblong-elliptic, green or purple, persistent. Calyx campanulate, 1.5-4 cm long, becoming fleshy after anthesis; lobes usually smooth or with a few bristles, green or purple, 3-nerved with a nectary on midnerve, persistent. Corolla 4-5 cm across, yellow with a purple centre. Petals orbicular, 4-5 cm, glabrous. Staminal column shorter than petals. Ovary ovoid, ca 3 mm across, appressed-hairy; stigmas glabrous. Capsules ovoid, ca 1.5 cm across, densely strigose; seeds reniform, furfuraceous.
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Habit:
Shrub
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Flowering & Fruiting:
December-February
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District(s):
All Districts
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Medicinal:
Yes
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Habitat:
Cultivated as vegetable, but now naturalised
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Distribution:
Native of Tropical Africa; widely cultivated in all tropics regions
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Aquatic:
No
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Epiphyte(s):
No
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Saprophyte:
No
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Stem parasite:
No
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Root parasite:
No
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Flower colour(s):
Yellow
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Weed:
No
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Monocot/Dicot:
Dicotyledonous Plants
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Exotic:
Yes
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Garden:
No
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Edible:
No
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Vegetable:
Yes
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Endemic to:
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IUCN status:
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Altitude:
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Localities:
Pallippuram, Eramallur, Mampad, Chathankode
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