HVH 2010 Online Store is Open!
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Greeting to our fellow hibiscus lovers!
The HVH 2010 Online Store is open and taking orders for spring shipping. We opened on January 1 with 41 new varieties, and added 8 more new varieties on February 1. All orders placed from now through the winter will be shipped when both the weather is suitable and when the plants themselves are ready - in April, May, or June. We have lots of hibiscus to choose from right now, so enjoy!
We have a brand new automated Waiting List at HVH this year. If there is a hibiscus variety that you want but can't find in our Online Store, you can add yourself to our waiting list. Be careful to follow directions exactly or the waiting list won't work. Please, understand that this waiting list does not obligate us to provide this hibiscus for you. It is strictly a courtesy service, and we are unable to reserve plants or accept payment in advance for plants that we don't yet have. When each hibiscus variety comes back into stock, we send out email notifications on a first-come-first-served basis to the people on our waiting list on the day we put the plant back in stock. This doesn't prevent others from ordering the plant first though, so if you receive one of these notification emails, and you really want the hibiscus, you should order it as quickly as possible.
Our first article this month explores the Mystery of Hibiscus liliiflorus, part of the ongoing saga of hibiscus history. The more we wade into the history of hibiscus, the muddier things become sometimes, and H. liliiflorus is one of these muddier hibiscus topics.
Our second article, Science and Hibiscus, provides information from a brand new research study of hibiscus genes. We hope the science buffs out there find this study as fascinating as we did.
At the very bottom of the newsletter, of course, is our Seedling of the Month, a new cultivar called 'James Bond.' It's a beauty, so don't forget to scroll down to see it!
Here's to a Valentine's Day filled with flowers!
Charles and Cindy Black
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The Mystery of Hibiscus liliiflorus
Hibiscus History Continues...
Where our gorgeous, modern, exotic hibiscus came from is a fascinating story in many ways, but one that is partially obscured by the mists of time and the introduction of errors, well intended though they may be. The story goes back at least 300 years, depending on where one wants to start, and of course during much of that time there were no cameras to take precise photos, and communication between botanists was very slow and uncertain. We rely mostly on the Latin language taxonomies for the earliest records, and try to interpret what they describe by what we see growing in front of us today. Drawings that appeared in early botanical magazines also help us figure out what was what during the early days.
Hibiscus liliiflorus is one of the important species of hibiscus that contributed to the genes in today's modern hybrids. One would think that this species is well known and documented, and that there would be no doubt as to what plants alive today are Hibiscus liliiflorus. Surprisingly, that assumption turns out to be wrong. There now exists doubt about which specimens of hibiscus really are H. liliiflorus. How did this happen? What is the evidence that we have to go by?
← Is H.liliiflorus this pink flower
or this orange flower? →
Drawing of Hibiscus liliiflorus
from Loddiges Botanical Cabinet, 1819
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Let's take a look at the original information on
H. liliiflorus - the first time it was named and described in an early taxonomy. That will solve any mysteries where this species is concerned, won't it? This species was first named and described briefly in the 1788 version of the the Linnaeus taxonomy, and discovery of the plant was attributed to Antonio José Cavanilles. Cavanille gave a complete description of the plant in his dissertation of 1789 (thanks to colleague Yvonne Forsling for making this available). Referring to this source should be definitive. Alas, nothing is ever so simple when dealing with the ancient world. Cavanilles described
H. liliiflorus as "Corolla (flower petals) phoenicia" in his original description. Unfortunately, "phoenicia" is a word that refers to a dye made in ancient Phoenicia that was a reddish purple. This does tend to support a pink colored
H. liliiflorus, but there is no way for us to be sure that pink was the precise color Cavanilles meant in his original description.
Hibiscus liliiflorus
from Sakuya Konohana Kan
The Great Conservatory
Osaka, Japan
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Even so we do have other significant indications of the appearance of H. liliiflorus before the modern era. This is in the form of drawings and paintings in botanical publications and also the accompanying text that describes
H. liliiflorus. Such drawings and descriptions match our observations of the pink-flowered plant growing in our yard and greenhouse. The drawing above at right is from the publication
Loddiges Botanical Cabinet in 1819 and shows one such example. A later example, at left, of a living plant that matches ours are these photos from Sakuya Konohana Kan, the Great Conservatory in Osaka, Japan.
Hibiscus liliiflorus
from Sakuya Konohana Kan
The Great Conservatory
Osaka, Japan
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An early description of H. liliiflorus that confirms the bright pink color is found in the Floricultural Cabinet and Florists Magazine published by Whitaker & Co. in 1834.
"Hibiscus Liliiflorus, Lily-Flowered Hibiscus Malvaceae. This elegant plant, of which there are many varieties, was introduced a few years since by Mr. Barclay. It is necessary to preserve it in the stove; it grows freely, and flowers during the summer. The flowers are of a bright rosy lilac; it is necessary to preserve it in the stove, as it is a native of the Mauritius."
So, why are we making such a point of the historical descriptions of H. liliiflorus? This is because back on Rodriques Island, one of the Mascarene Islands off the east coast of Africa where H. liliiflorus once grew naturally, an effort is well underway to repopulate the island with the extinct or near-extinct H. liliiflorus. Articles have been published about this effort and one such has spread around the hibiscus community in recent days. But isn't that a good thing? Maybe not. All these efforts are focused on a plant that is described by Ross McKinnon, Curator of the Brisband Botanic Gardens (May/June 2000), as "covered in the most exquisite orange flowers". This sounds more like the related hibiscus species H. boryanus or some unknown plant that may be a hybrid rather than the "bright rosy lilac" colored flower that we believe to be H. liliiflorus based largely on the sources described above.
Also of interest is that McKinnon's article described H. liliiflorus as having orange flowers, citing "Barker, 1877" [sic] as the source for his description of H. liliiflorus. However, we consulted the Baker (not Barker) publication from 1877, Flora of Mauritius and the Seychelles. It described H. liliiflorus as "Corolla (Latin for flower petals) large, funnel-shaped, bright red." No mention of an orange flower in the very source cited by these well intentioned explorers and conservators.
Hibiscus genevii
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Complicating the situation is the fact that
H. liliiflorus is either extinct in the wild or down to its last few wild plants growing in the Mascarene Islands off the east coast of Africa. McKinnon's article tells the story of a group of interested people who tried to find the last plants of
H. liliiflorus in order to save them. We most definitely applaud their efforts and wish more such work was being done. However, it appears to us that a mistake in identification has been made and that it is likely to be compounded, since McKinnon claimed that this orange-flowered plant was grafted and is now growing and identified as
H. liliiflorus in a botanical garden on Mauritius (one of the three Mascarene Islands). Even more alarming is McKinnon's claim that "many young plants are growing from the seed of these plants at Nancy and Kew." These latter are well regarded Botanical Gardens that share seed of rare species and could become a major source for future confusion. So why did they pick the orange-flowered plants on Rodriguez Island as the final specimens of
H. liliiflorus in the wild? We don't know, but would very much like to hear from them and get some clarification about this choice.
Hibiscus fragilis
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There appears to be confusion both locally and internationally between all four species of hibiscus discovered in the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Reunion. Three of these species,
H. fragile,
H. genevii, and
H. liliiflorus, are closely related and are known to be cross compatible since many hybrids have been made with them.
H. boryanus is also related to these species and has been photographed with orange flowers. "Mandrinette," the island word for "hibiscus" is a word that is commonly used in the Mascarene Islands to refer to any of these species.
Hibiscus boryanus
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Mandrinette is also the word used in McKinnon's article in reference to the purported
H. liliiflorus that was the object of conservation. When looking at the historical record one comes across such items as a photo of
H. genevii but with text that calls it
H liliiflorus.
The Conservatoire Botanique National de Mascarin, which is the local conservatory for the Mascarene Islands refers to these species as being "synonyms" for each other. It also describes an orange flowered H. liliiflorus but adds that there is controversy over the identification. It is in French, but anyone interested can have a look at the conservatory web site at http://flore.cbnm.org/
Drawing from Kew Gardens
labeled H. liliiflorus
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Finally, we discovered a photo of an old drawing at Kew Gardens that shows what is supposed to be H. liliiflorus that appears to be bright reddish orange. Clearly, there is substantial confusion over which plant was the original H. liliiflorus discovered by Cavanilles.
We are not in a position to prove one way or the other the "real" identification of H. liliiflorus or the other hibiscus species plants that originated on the Mascarene Islands. After extensive research and in consultation with international sources, we have concluded that the best evidence points to H. liliiflorus as being bright pink-flowered, H. fragilis being bright red flowered, H. genevii being very light lilac flowered, and H. boryanus being orange-flowered. Unless and until better information emerges (see next article on genetics of hibiscus), we will continue to identify the ancestral hibiscus species as described above and as seen in photos on the HVH website.
Orange flower called H. liliiflorus by some
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So what is the orange-flowered hibiscus in the Mascarenes that is sometimes called H. liliiflorus? Is it one of the others - possibly H. fragilis or H. boryanus? Or is it an early hybrid of two of these native species hibiscus? Or is it an entirely new species plant? We can't answer this question now, but hopefully, in the near future, all the confusion surrounding hibiscus species plants will be cleared up.
And finally, just for fun, here is an interesting story that we found on Gil Bujunda's website, Hibiscus & Malvacae. It demonstrates the difficulties we have in sorting out the truth about the original hibiscus species that are the ancestors of today's hybrids.
In the late 1970s, botanists had shown interest in a rare tree hibiscus (Hibiscus liliiflorus) growing on top of the highest mountain on Rodrigues. When Gerald Durrell went out to make a film, he discovered that it was being eaten up by goats. Money was given to fence it off from the goats, and forestry department workers were sent out to put up the fence. When the workers realized that they didn't have enough fencing to go around the entire plant, they chopped off one of its large branches to make the hibiscus fit inside the fence. "They didn't quite get it," Wendy laments, shaking her head. "I saw the hibiscus in 1982, just after it had died." She was given new hope, however, when she learned that a cutting taken from the plant had survived and was growing in a Catholic priest's home on the island. "Again, when the plant was fenced, people went up and began taking bits of bark, branches, and also leaving money and putting little candles on the tree," she recalls. "It became another magic tree. In 1982, when she went up with a forester to take a cutting, only remnants of the hibiscus remained, its fate sealed with wax from the candles placed on it and burnt in its honor. She stood there, staring at the remains, realizing nothing more could he done for it. As she contemplated the dead plant, the forester climbed over the fence and began picking up the change strewn around it. Then she recognized the second tragedy: "People were still throwing money in - these were poor people; they didn't have 'loose change' to spare.
Watching, from the Edge of Extinction
By Beverly Peterson Stearns
Published by Yale University Press, 2000
Science and Hibiscus
As pointed out in the article above, it can be difficult to use the historical record to understand the origins of hibiscus. We need more scientific studies of our favorite plants! We are just beginning to see some research on hibiscus, and are happy to report on a new study of the genetics of hibiscus published January 4, 2010. A group of Italian scientists analyzed the genes of more than 90 hibiscus varieties,¹ some well known to the readers of this newsletter, along with several of the hibiscus species that were the ancestors of our modern day hybrid varieties. A number of you know the French nurseryman and hibiscus expert, Jean-François Giraud. It turns out that he served as a consultant to the scientists doing this genetic research.
Hibiscus storckii
may be a hybrid
instead of a species
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Interpreting the results of genetic research can be difficult for non-geneticists, so we enlisted the help of a biologist friend. The bottom line is that they are able to confirm genetically, using the same type of tests that prove paternity or identity in crimes, that the species of hibiscus we have long reported as the ancestors of hibiscus are closely related and the most likely ancestors of the modern H. rosa-sinensis varieties. That is not earth-shattering news, but it is progress to see that scientific scrutiny supports what we have surmised from observing and working with hibiscus. The research also determined that some groups of hybrid hibiscus are more closely related than others, and this was along the lines you would expect too. Simpler garden variety type flowers were more closely related to each other than to the more modern and fancy hybrids. The researchers also made a chart of groupings of the hybrids that showed some degree of shared traits between them, but there was no data we could ascertain about which species were more involved with each individual hybrid. But there are some small interesting suggestions that do seem to come from this study:
- Hibiscus storkii always thought to be a hibiscus species, may actually be a very, very early hybrid. It could possibly be an offspring of Hibiscus arnottianus, the fragrant, pure white Hawaiian native species.
- The mysterious and extremely rare Hibiscus denisonii looks like it actually was one of the original species that contributed to the modern hybrids. Hibiscus connoisseurs have guessed that this was true for many years, but have never known for sure.
- The orange (and sometimes yellow) Hibiscus boryanus, native to the Mascarene Islands, is fairly closely related to the native species that are known to contribute to the modern hibiscus hybrids. Even if it is not cross-compatible now with the other species, it could have been a common ancestor, or it could previously have been cross-compatible. In any case, it is clearly some kind of relative.
Hibiscus denisonii, confirmed as
an ancestor of modern hybrids
Photo: Jean-François Giraud ©2002
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Why doesn't this study fully answer the question we were looking at in the article above - which is the real H. liliiflorus? The only way it could do that is if both the pink-flowered and the orange-flowered plants were included in the study, which was not done. We still are not even sure which plant was used as H. liliiflorus in this study, but are in the process of investigating that. Hopefully a similar study in the near future will answer this question too.
Research often seems to give rise to more questions than answers, as does this study. But the questions are interesting ones! Anyone interested in discussing this topic further is encouraged to join the discussion in the Hibiscus Science - Botany, Genetics, Hybridizing section of the HVH Forum. You don't need to be a scientist to join this conversation!
1. Braglia, L., Bruna, S., Lanteri, S., Mercuri, A. and Portis, E., 2010. "An AFLP-based assessment of the genetic diversity within Hibiscus rosa-sinensis and its place within the Hibiscus genus complex." Scientia Horticulturae, 123, pp. 372-378. Copyright 2010 by Elsevier.
