Hibiscus mutabilis
Details Top
| Internal ID | UUID6440209be3a68017929256 |
| Scientific name | Hibiscus mutabilis |
| Authority | L. |
| First published in | Sp. Pl. : 694 (1753) |
General Uses Top
Suggest a correction!Common products:
Hibiscus mutabilis is cultivated primarily as an ornamental shrub; its flowers open white in the morning and turn pink to deep red by afternoon, a trait widely promoted in horticultural catalogues. Young flower buds are harvested for culinary use and are sold fresh or dried in East and Southeast Asian markets. The petals contain anthocyanins that can be extracted to produce a natural pink‑to‑red food colourant.
Industrial and craft applications:
Petals processed into an aqueous extract serve as a natural dye for protein fibres such as silk and wool, providing pastel shades suitable for small‑scale textile dyeing and craft projects. The colour is water‑soluble, allowing both immersion and resist‑dyeing techniques. Commercial textile operations have adopted the extract as a sustainable alternative to synthetic colourants in niche markets.
Food and beverages (non‑medicinal):
The tender flower buds (and occasionally the young leaves) are eaten after brief boiling, stir‑frying, or added to soups and pickles. They retain a mild floral flavour and a firm texture, serving as a vegetable side dish or garnish. No medicinal claims are made; the use is purely culinary.
Colorants and tanning:
The pink‑red hue derives from cyanidin‑3‑O‑glucoside and related anthocyanins that are water‑soluble and pH‑responsive. Extracts are employed solely as colourants for textiles and food; the plant does not provide appreciable tannins and is not used for leather tanning.
Properties relevant to use:
Fresh petals contain 2–5 mg g⁻¹ fresh weight of anthocyanins expressed as cyanidin‑3‑O‑glucoside equivalents. These pigments are heat‑stable up to about 80 °C, soluble in water, and shift colour with pH (vivid pink in acidic conditions, brownish in alkaline). Young buds also contain mucilaginous polysaccharides that impart modest thickening and binding properties. Stems have relatively low lignin content, limiting suitability for timber or high‑strength fibres.
Standards and regulation:
When marketed as a food ingredient (e.g., in China and Thailand), the buds must comply with national food‑safety standards such as GB 2760 (China) or the Thai FDA Food Additive List. Natural colourants derived from the petals, when used in food, are subject to the same additive‑category regulations; in the European Union such extracts are not listed as approved food additives, requiring pre‑market safety assessment. Cosmetic or fragrance applications must meet the safety and labelling requirements of the relevant regulatory framework (e.g., EU Cosmetic Regulation No 1223/2009).
Sustainability and sourcing:
The species is widely cultivated as an ornamental in warm‑temperate to subtropical regions and requires minimal fertilizer and pest control. Harvesting flower buds for culinary or colourant purposes does not diminish ornamental production, enabling co‑production. Propagation by seed or soft‑wood cuttings supports both small‑holder and commercial cultivation with low environmental impact.
Scientific and model‑organism use:
H. mutabilis serves as a model for studying temporal floral colour change, anthocyanin biosynthesis, and pH‑mediated pigment regulation. Molecular studies have used it to investigate gene expression patterns of the anthocyanin pathway and the physiological basis of colour shift, contributing to broader research on pigment dynamics in flowering plants.
Synonyms Top
| Scientific name | Authority | First published in |
|---|---|---|
| Ketmia mutabilis | Moench | Methodus : 617 (1794) |
| Abelmoschus mutabilis | (L.) Wall. ex Hassk. | Cat. Hort. Bot. Bogor. Alt. : 198 (1844) |
| Hibiscus immutabilis | Dehnh. ex Walp. | Repert. Bot. Syst. 1: 307 1842 |
| Hibiscus sinensis | Mill. | Gard. Dict. ed. 8 : n.º 2 (1768) |
| Hibiscus javanicus | Weinm. | Syll. Pl. Nov. ii. (1828) 172. |
| Hibiscus mutabilis f. plenus | S.Y.Hu | Fl. China Family 153: 51 1955 |
| Hibiscus immutabilis | Dehnh. | Mem. sop. alc. piant. nuov. 4 1836 |
| Hibiscus aestuans | Rottler ex Mast. | Fl. Brit. India [J. D. Hooker] 1(3): 845. 1875 [Feb 1875] |
| Hibiscus malvarosa | Noronha | Verh. Batav. Genootsch. Kunst. 5(Art. 4): 17. 1790 |
| Hibiscus mutabilis var. flore-pleno | Andrews | |
| Hibiscus mutabilis var. roseoplenus | Makino |
Common names Top
Add a new one! Suggest a correction!| Language | Common/alternative name |
|---|---|
| English | cotton rosemallow |
| English | dixie rosemallow |
| English | confederate rose |
| English | cotton rose |
| Arabic | حب مسك متبدل |
| Arabic | حب مسك متغاير |
| Assamese | স্থলপদ্ম |
| Bulgarian | Изменчив хибискус |
| Bengali | স্থলপদ্ম |
| Esperanto | hibisko |
| Persian | ختمی الوان |
| Hungarian | tajvani hibiszkusz |
| Hungarian | gyapotrózsa |
| Indonesian | waru landak |
| Japanese | 木芙蓉 |
| Japanese | 芙蓉 |
| Japanese | フヨウ |
| Korean | 목부용 |
| Korean | 부용 |
| lzh | 芙蓉 |
| Malayalam | ചേഞ്ച് റോസ് |
| Malayalam | മായച്ചെമ്പരുത്തി |
| Malayalam | ചേഞ്ചിങ്ങ് റോസ് |
| mnc | ᡶᡠᠰᡠᡵᡳ ᡳᠯᡥᠠ |
| Malay | baru landak |
| Malay | bunga raya dadu |
| pam | amapola |
| Portuguese | rosa-louca |
| Portuguese | rosa-de-são-francisco |
| Swedish | bomullshibiskus |
| Thai | พุดตาน |
| Vietnamese | phù dung |
| za | sabaizbeih |
| Chinese | 木芙蓉 |
| Chinese | 酒醉芙蓉 |
| Chinese | 芙蓉花 |
| Chinese | 芙蓉根 |
| Chinese | 木芙蓉花 |
| Chinese | 木芙蓉（重瓣木芙蓉） |
| Chinese | 芙蓉叶 |
Germination/Propagation Top
Suggest a correction or add new data!| Sow seeds at 20°C, expecting germination within 3 months without further temperature treatment. |
Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top
Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
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Africa click to expand
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South Tropical Africa
- Zimbabwe
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Southern Africa
- Northern Provinces
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West Tropical Africa
- Gambia
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West-central Tropical Africa
- Cameroon
- Gulf Of Guinea Islands
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Western Indian Ocean
- Mauritius
- Réunion
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South Tropical Africa
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Asia-temperate click to expand
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China
- China North-central
- China South-central
- China Southeast
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Eastern Asia
- Japan
- Korea
- Taiwan
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China
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Asia-tropical click to expand
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Indian Subcontinent
- Assam
- Bangladesh
- India
- Nepal
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Indo-China
- Thailand
- Vietnam
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Malesia
- Borneo
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Indian Subcontinent
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Australasia click to expand
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Australia
- Norfolk Island
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Australia
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Northern America click to expand
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Southeastern U.S.A.
- Alabama
- Louisiana
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Southeastern U.S.A.
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Pacific click to expand
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North-central Pacific
- Hawaii
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Northwestern Pacific
- Caroline Islands
- Marianas
- Marshall Islands
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South-central Pacific
- Society Islands
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North-central Pacific
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Southern America click to expand
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Caribbean
- Bermuda
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Haiti
- Leeward Islands
- Trinidad-Tobago
- Windward Islands
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Western South America
- Ecuador
-
Caribbean
Links to other databases Top
Suggest others/fix!| Database | ID/link to page |
|---|---|
| World Flora Online | wfo-0000722828 |
| UNII | UPK5677W4S |
| Florida Plant Atlas | 4931 |
| Flora of Alabama | 2620 |
| USDA Plants | HIMU3 |
| Tropicos | 19600166 |
| INPN | 445756 |
| KEW | urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:560549-1 |
| The Plant List | kew-2850227 |
| PaleoBotany | 25329 |
| Open Tree Of Life | 1092076 |
| NCBI Taxonomy | 455430 |
| Nature Serve | 2.153673 |
| IPNI | 560549-1 |
| iNaturalist | 163770 |
| GBIF | 3152555 |
| Freebase | /m/026rpj2 |
| EPPO | HIBMU |
| EOL | 584341 |
| USDA GRIN | 19059 |
| Wikipedia | Hibiscus_mutabilis |
Genomes (via NCBI) Top
Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
| Accession | Assembly | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Level | Submitter | Released | Coverage | Size | |
| GCA_019671005.1 | ASM1967100v1 | Chromosome | Chengdu Botanical Garden | 2021-08-19 | 104 | 2.49 Gb |
Scientific Literature Top
Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Phytochemical Profile Top
Add a new one!
Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
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| Name | PubChem ID | Canonical SMILES | MW | Found in | Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / 2-arylbenzofuran flavonoids | |||||
| Boehmenan K | 637139 | Click to see COC1=CC(=CC2=C1OC(C2COC(=O)C=CC3=CC(=C(C=C3)O)OC)C4=CC(=C(C=C4)O)OC)C=CCOC(=O)C=CC5=CC=C(C=C5)O | 680.70 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1016/J.FITOTE.2007.03.010 |
| > Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavonoid glycosides / Flavonoid O-glycosides / Flavonoid-3-O-glycosides | |||||
| (+)-Taxifolin 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside; (2R,3R)-(-)-Dihydroquercetin 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside; (2R,3R)-Taxifolin-3-D-beta-xylopyranoside; Taxifolin 3-O-beta-D-xylopyranoside | 24868443 | Click to see | 436.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1080/00021369.1982.10865315 |
| (2S,3R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4S,5R,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-2,3-dihydrochromen-4-one | 162993998 | Click to see C1=CC(=C(C=C1C2C(C(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)O)O)OC4C(C(C(C(O4)CO)O)O)O)O)O | 466.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1080/00021369.1982.10865315 |
| (2S,3R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4S,5S,6R)-3,4,5-trihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)oxan-2-yl]oxy-2,3-dihydrochromen-4-one | 21721951 | Click to see | 466.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1080/00021369.1982.10865315 |
| (2S,3R)-2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-3-[(2S,3R,4S,5S)-3,4,5-trihydroxyoxan-2-yl]oxy-2,3-dihydrochromen-4-one | 162887298 | Click to see C1C(C(C(C(O1)OC2C(OC3=CC(=CC(=C3C2=O)O)O)C4=CC(=C(C=C4)O)O)O)O)O | 436.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1080/00021369.1982.10865315 |
| Glucodistylin | 14187088 | Click to see | 466.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1080/00021369.1982.10865315 |
| Quercetin 3-alloside | 12304327 | Click to see | 464.40 | unknown | https://doi.org/10.1080/00021369.1982.10865315 |
Collections Top
| In private collections | 0 |
| In public collections | 0 |