Botanical Magazine 106 - 1880.pdf - hibiscus.org

appeared in the middle of May of this very backward year,
but no fruit has been formed; the leaves were not fully
developed till the end of June. It need hardly be stated
that the five-petalled variety is much more attractive than
the four-petalled.
DESCR. A glabrous shrub, three to five feet high, with
stout spreading terete smooth green shining branches, and
strong straight thorns an inch long and upwards. Leaves
appearing after the flowers, three-foliolate ; petiole about
half an inch long, flattened ; leaflets elliptic, sessile, crenu-
late, obtuse, emarginate, coriaceous, dotted with pellucid
oil-glands ; lateral often oblique, about one inch, the
terminal one and a half inch long. Flowers solitary in the
axils of the spines, very shortly pedicelled, about one inch
in diameter. Sepals four or five, small, oblong, concave,
deciduous. Petals four or five, two-thirds of an inch
long, obovate, almost clawed, concave, incurved, snow-
white. Stamens eight, or ten, inserted in a thick annular
pubescent disk, filaments flattened, connate at the base,
reddish below the middle ; anthers oblong. Ovary globose,
two or more celled pubescent ; and stigma very short,
eren ate ; ovules one in each cell. Fruit a small orange.•
J. D. H.
Fig. 1, Vertical section of flower ; 2, stamen ; 3, disk and ovary ; 4, vertical
section of the same ; 5, transverse section of ovary :•all enlarged.