Native rosella facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Native rosella
Scientific classification
Genus:	Hibiscus
Species:	heterophyllus

Hibiscus heterophyllus, commonly known as native rosella or toilet paper bush, is a flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It a shrub or small tree with white, pale pink or yellow flowers with a dark red centre and grows in New South Wales and Queensland.

Description

Hibiscus heterophyllus is a shrub or small tree with more or less smooth, prickly stems. The lower leaves are egg-shaped or with 3-5 lobes, upper leaves are narrowly oval shaped to narrowly lance shaped and 5–18 cm (2.0–7.1 in) long. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils, calyx lobes lance-shaped, 20–35 mm (0.79–1.38 in) long with a dense covering of rusty-coloured star shaped, short, matted hairs. The flower corolla 5–7 cm (2.0–2.8 in) long, pale pink, white or yellow with a dark red centre. The fruit is 20 mm (0.79 in) long and covered with straw-coloured short, soft, upright hairs. Flowering occurs from spring to summer.

Taxonomy and naming

Hibiscus heterophyllus was first formally described in 1805 by Étienne Pierre Ventenat and the description was published in Jardin de la Malmaison.The specific epithet (heterophyllus) means "different" and "leaved" with reference to having varying shaped leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This species is usually found in open forest, rainforest or nearby, from north-east Queensland to the south coast of New South Wales.

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  Fruit

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  Flower buds

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