Friday, January 29, 2010

The Hibiscus Show! For Blooming Friday

After presenting parades of hedges, then Vandas and Cattleyas, i am now presenting a parade of Hibiscus species. We call it gumamela here in the Philippines. It  is  cultivated throughout the country, being sunloving all year round.  We have some native ones, but we have also several hibiscus hybrids developed by our local scientists from the University of the Philippines Los Baños.  Hibiscus hybrids with “stunning” flower colors and appearance, which improved the native cultivars were developed to be competitive in the world market. Just like the Mussaenda species hybridized in the mid 1900s, the hibiscus hybridization started in 1994 and has already produced 35 hybrids. While Mussaendas were named after first ladies and women presidents of the country (except for the Queen Sirikit of Thailand), Hibiscus hybrids are named after prominent women of science.  For example the 35th hybrid was named after the first Filipina who specialized in Biological Chemistry.

The gumamela flower has several uses around the world. In this country it has been used as a poultice to boils, cancerous swellings and mumps,  while the leaves are used as a lotion for fevers and headache. The flower is also used as ingredients in soaps, lotions and as tea and food in other parts of the world.

I chose variations in color and morphology of the flowers for posting here.  These are just the available photos now from my ready files. A lot more are coming. Please stay tuned to this channel.


The above three types have shorter styles, while the next ones have them very long.
The next pink multiple petalled Hibiscus has different reproductive parts from the last red one.


This red cultivar has three distinct reproductive parts fused into one common flower. Can you see them distributed around, the yellow stamens protruding among the red petals. Isn't it wonderful to compare them not only in terms of color, but also in terms of how they show the reproductive parts, and how many flowers actually present in one show!


I again dedicate this post to   Autumn Belle, because she is so generous, diligent with her postings for her readers, and... her country's national flower is the single petalled red hibiscus.
The last complex cultivar is very special, so i will give it to Autumn Belle as a souvenir for her garden.

Moreover, thanks for  Katarina of Roses and Stuff,    the originator of Blooming Friday.

22 comments:

  1. I am amazed with the many shapes and forms that scientists can come out with. Do they thought of the look of the new hibiscus first before hybridize work?

    Of all the colours, which colour is the hardest to get a new hybrid? Is it easier with single or multiple petaled ones.

    I like bright colours or even pure white for single petals. And soft colour for the multiple petals. I am begining to like hibiscus more and more as I see more beautiful hybrids as shown here.

    And thanks for posting all these pretty blooms. Have a great weekend!

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  2. Wow, they're just lovely. I can't decide which one i like the best.

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  3. Amazing. Beautiful. Wonderful. You really made my snow white day. Thank you! Have a nice week end!

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  4. Andrea, once again thank you very very much. I am very honoured indeed by your kind and thoughtful dedication. Your commentary about the hibiscus flower is very informative and interesting. I was going to ask you about the hibiscus in the last picture. It seems to have 3 stamens! This is very unusual! :P

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  5. Oh I like Hibiscus and your beautiful pictures too!
    Have a nice Blooming Friday!
    Smile...Luna

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  6. So many fine hibiskus, they're just lovely. I can't decide which one i like best, they are so lovely all of them.. have a nice weekend. Moa

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  7. Andrea, Glad you visited my blog. those blue flowers are called primrose. Your hibiscus are breathtaking. I love that white one. They are not hardy here so I have to bring mine inside during the winter. So far they are surviving. Funny how you want to hear about snow and I want to see your flowers during the winter. It is bitter here today. Only 10 degrees. brrrrrr. Trade ya weather.

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  8. The hibiscus are very beautiful!

    You asked about the Prunus mume -- it's Japanese Flowering Apricot, with fruits that look just like miniature apricots but are too bitter to eat. It's a true winter bloomer, and flowers anywhere from Dec to Feb in my area.

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  9. Gorgeous shots of adorable Hibiscuses! My heart beat faster when I watch thoses beauties - especially the ones with long styles.
    Happy Blooming Friday!

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  10. They are beautiful flowers but I do prefer the single forms rather than the doubles. Such lovely colours too!

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  11. Of course Steph, a scientist thinks of lots of parameters to get from the parents to the offsprings. These parameters also have different ease of transmission. For example color might be easy to get, but quality or petals might be sacrificed, or its longevity during transport! I am not a plant breeder but i know how difficult these things are. However, sometimes for ornamentals the best show of petals matter most, whatever other qualities are sacrifice!

    I am sorry i dont know the answer which color is hardest to get as a hybrid, or with single or multiple petalled ones! Maybe you can experiment on your own, just a hobbyist and tell us what you discover.

    I forget to say that the above photos are not necessarily hybrids, they are just photos i got from my files. Thanks everyone.

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  12. Andrea, beautiful, beautiful photos of the Hibiscus. Are these taken with your DSLR?

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  13. Hello via Jodi's blog :) Your photos are stunning!

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  14. Your posts make me homesick for the tropics. I loved the pictures, my favorite is the 5-petalled pink with ruby center. Reminds me of a hibiscus I had in Florida that survived THREE hurricanes. You've gotta love survivors.

    And thank you for the information. Had no idea of the medicinal uses. We have some red-flowered mallow-family natives here that are high in vitamin C. I wonder if they have similar properties to those you mentioned.

    And how cool that the new hybrids from the university are named after female botany pioneers!

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  15. The white fllower in my latest post is Grape Hyacinths.
    Katarina

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  16. What a lovely presentation... varieties of hibiscus I have never before seen! I love the singles!

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  17. Thanks Andrea for your explaination! I would just let the expert do their job he, he... I am sure that they have their own set of challenges ;-)

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  18. Thanks everyone for your comments, questions, kind words, and visits. You inspire me more!

    BTW, Steph i am giving you my latest post, as you are a collector of the unique!

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  19. Andrea, I truly enjoyed seeing your hibiscus collection! Thanks for sharing.
    Have a wonderful day and rest of the week!

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  20. Hi Andrea! Would you like some seeds from my minipansies? I could send you some later this summer if you want to. I guess they could grow in your climate as in mine.

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  21. These are gorgeous, Andrea. What amazing colours and variations in forms hibiscus have! Here, they can only be grown indoors, or outside during the summer, which is a long time from now. There are hardier forms like Rose of Sharon, but they aren't nearly as glorious as these. I like the flamboyant ones the best.

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  22. That's a wonderful collection of different species of hibiscus. It looks like you live in the paradise of flowers.

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Your comments inspire me to post more, and our conversations make life and gardening more meaningful.

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