Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Hibiscus heterophyllus subsp. heterophyllus

Flower. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer G Sankowsky, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Key

Flower and leaves. Photographer Richard Hartland, Kenilworth

Seed case and leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Leaves. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer unknown, Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Key

Shrub. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Common name

Native rosella, Toilet paper bush

Family

Malvaceae

Where found

Forest. Coast and ranges north from Jervis Bay.

Notes

Shrub or small tree to 6 m tall. Bark prickly, otherwise smooth. Stems prickly, initially densely stellate hairy (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see), often becoming hairless. Leaves alternating up the stems, 5-20 cm long, 40-180 mm wide, 2-6 lobed or unlobed and narrow. Flowers white, pale pink, or yellow, with a red to purple centre, with 5 petals each 50-80 mm long. Flowers single, sometimes in elongated clusters.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=in&name=Hibiscus~heterophyllus~subsp.+heterophyllus  (accessed 19 January, 2021)