Plant Name
Scientific Name: Malvaviscus penduliflorus
Synonym: Malvaviscus arboreus var. penduliflorus
Common Names: Mazapan, Turk's Cap, Firecracker Hibiscus, Sleeping Hibiscus, Sleepy Mallow, Cardinal's Hat
Plant Characteristics
Duration: Perennial, Evergreen
Growth Habit: Shrub
Hawaii Native Status: Introduced. This naturalized ornamental garden plant is probably native to Mexico.
Flower Color: Red, White (rare)
Flowering Season: Year-round
Height: Up to 13 feet (4 m) tall
Description: The flowers are tubular, pendulous, solitary or clustered, up to 2 1/2 inches (6.4 cm) long, and have an exerted central column tipped with a 10-branched style above multiple anthers. The flowers look very much like drooping, wilted hibiscus flower buds that never open. The leaves are dark green, alternate, almost hairless, edged with scalloped teeth, and lanceolate to ovate in shape with a pointed tip.
This shrub is commonly cultivated but also grows at the edge of disturbed, low elevation mesic (moderately wet) forests.
The similar Wax Mallow (Malvaviscus arboreus) has hairy leaves and upright (non-pendulous) flowers.
Classification
Kingdom: Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom: Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
Superdivision: Spermatophyta – Seed plants
Division: Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Dilleniidae
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae – Mallow family
Genus: Malvaviscus Fabr. – wax mallow
Species: Malvaviscus penduliflorus DC. – mazapan
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