Hibiscus syriacus L., Malvaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Evaluate, score: 5 (Go to the risk assessment).

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: mu jin

English: rose mallow, rose of Sharon, shrub althaea, shrubby althaea, Syrian hibiscus, Syrian ketmia, Syrian rose

French: hibiscus de Syrie, ketmie des jardins, mauve de Syrie

Japanese: hachisu, mokukinka, mukuge

Maori (Cook Islands): kaute vare‘au

Spanish: rosa de Siria

Habit:  shrub

Description:  "Shrubs deciduous, erect, 1.5-4 m tall. Branchlets yellow stellate puberulent. Stipules filiform-subulate, ca. 6 mm, pilose; petiole 5-25 mm, stellate pubescent adaxially; leaf blade rhomboid to triangular-ovate or broadly lanceolate, variously 3-lobed or entire, 3-10 x 2-4 cm, papery, abaxially puberulent along veins or glabrous, adaxially glabrous, basal veins 3-5, base cuneate, margin irregularly incised, apex obtuse to subacute. Flowers solitary, axillary on upper branches. Pedicel 4-14 mm, stellate puberulent. Epicalyx lobes 6-8, filiform, 6-20 x 0.5-2 mm, ± free, connate at base only, densely stellate puberulent, apex obtuse or acute. Calyx campanulate, 14-20 mm, densely stellate puberulent, lobes 5, triangular. Corolla blue-purple, violet, white, pink, or reddish, sometimes with darker center, campanulate, sometimes double, 5-6 cm in diameter; petals obovate, 3.5-4.5 cm, pilose and stellate villous abaxially. Staminal column ca. 3 cm. Style glabrous. Capsule ovoid-globose, ca. 12 mm in diameter, densely yellow stellate puberulent. Seeds reniform, with yellow-white hairs abaxially"  (Flora of China online).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "sea cliffs, hillsides, along streams, roadsides, also extensively cultivated; below 1200 m"  (Flora of China online).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  China and Taiwan, cultivated and naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive cultivated	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Rota Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1979) (p. 162)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Ma‘uke Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island	introduced cultivated	McCormack, Gerald (2011)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Hiva Oa Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. (2008)
French Polynesia Marquesas Islands	Nuku Hiva (Nukahiva) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Moorea Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 2133 (PAP) Cultivée
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Raivavae (Raevavae) Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 5767 (PAP) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rapa Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced cultivated	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Cultivée
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island		Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.) (1986) (voucher ID: BISH 508633) Taxon name on voucher: Hibiscus syriacus L.
Marshall Islands Ratak Chain	Majuro (Mãjro) Atoll	introduced cultivated	Vander Velde, Nancy (2003) (p. 106)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 98) Vouchers cited: MacKee 28346, MacKee 46145
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 115) Voucher cited: CHR 170336
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Late Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1981) (p. 349)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 98)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 186)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced cultivated	Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. (1988) (p. 825)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced cultivated	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 48) Cultivated only
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	introduced	U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. (2011)

Additional information:
Weed of the Week" fact sheet from U.S. Forest Service (PDF format).

Additional online information about Hibiscus syriacus is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Hibiscus syriacus as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Hibiscus syriacus may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Bishop Museum (U.S.A. Hawaii. Honolulu.). 1986. Voucher specimen #BISH508633(Tabara, J. s.n.).

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1979. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian dicotyledonae. Micronesica 15:1-295.

Lorence, David H./Wagner, Warren L. 2008. Flora of the Marquesas Islands. National Tropical Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution. Online database.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Porcher, Michel H. 2011. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database. The University of Melbourne, Australia. Online resource.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1981. The vegetation of Late, Tonga. Allertonia 2(6):323-353.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Vander Velde, Nancy. 2003. The vascular plants of Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. Smithsonian Institution, Atoll Research Bulletin No. 503:1-141.

Webb, C. J./Sykes, W. R./Garnock-Jones, P. J. 1988. Flora of New Zealand, Volume IV: Naturalised pteridophytes, gymnosperms, dicotyledons. Botany Division, DSIR, Christchurch. 1365 pp.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).