Details Top

Internal ID UUID644020aa060c3384293741
Scientific name Hibiscus trionum
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl. : 697 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
Hibiscus trionum is cultivated almost exclusively as an ornamental flowering plant. Commercial horticultural firms produce and sell seeds, seedlings, and potted plants for use in cottage‑garden beds, mixed borders, and container displays. The species is also marketed as a cut flower for short‑term floral arrangements because the large, showy corolla remains attractive after cutting. Seed catalogs of major distributors list the species alongside other annual hibiscus varieties, and plant nurseries routinely carry stock for the spring planting season.

Industrial and craft applications:
The papery calyx that remains on the plant after petal drop is harvested in small quantities for dried‑flower crafts such as wreaths and decorative garlands. Dried flower material is supplied by specialty craft suppliers who source it from cultivated stock, providing a minor but documented non‑medicinal use.

Properties relevant to use:
Ornamental value stems from the long‑lasting, five‑petaled flowers (typically white to pale pink with a deep maroon throat) and a conspicuous papery calyx that persists after anthesis, extending visual interest. The plant exhibits an upright, branched habit reaching 30–70 cm, tolerates soils ranging from sandy loam to moderately fertile clay, and thrives in full sun to partial shade. It produces rapid vegetative growth, completing a full flowering cycle within a single season, and shows moderate drought tolerance that reduces irrigation needs in commercial production. Seeds display high germination rates (often >80 % under optimal conditions) and retain viability for several years, facilitating cost‑effective seed propagation. The calyx’s papery texture and durability make it suitable for dried‑flower crafts.

Standards and regulation:
Seeds marketed in the United States must comply with the Federal Seed Act, which requires accurate labeling of species, cultivar, and germination percentages. In the European Union, seed sales are governed by the Plant Reproductive Material Directive, which mandates certification under the OECD Seed Certification Scheme for commercial seed lots. These regulatory frameworks ensure traceability and quality standards for horticultural products of H. trionum.

Sustainability and sourcing:
Hibiscus trionum is cultivated entirely from domesticated stock and readily self‑sows, so commercial production does not depend on wild harvest and poses no threat to wild populations. The species is listed as “secure” in regional plant databases (e.g., USDA PLANTS) and is classified as non‑invasive in most temperate zones. Growers report low pest pressure and minimal chemical inputs, contributing to an environmentally benign production profile. Seed suppliers source material from certified breeding programs that maintain genetic purity, ensuring consistent ornamental quality while supporting sustainable horticultural practices. No CITES export permits are required, and the plant is not considered a conservation concern.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Laguna ternata Willd. Sp. Pl., ed. 4 , 3: 733 (1800)
Trionum cordifolium Moench Suppl. Meth. : 202 (1802)
Trionum diffusum Moench Methodus : 618 (1794)
Trionum frutescens Medik. Malvenfam. : 47 (1787)
Abelmoschus collinsianus Wood Class-book Bot. , ed. 2b: 271 (1861)
Hibiscus dissectus Wall. Numer. List [Wallich] n. 2696. 1831
Hibiscus djabinianus Parsa Kew Bull. 2: 18 (1947)
Hibiscus hastifolius E.Mey. ex Harv. & Sond. Fl. Cap. 1: 176 (1860)
Hibiscus humboldtii Schrank ex Colla Hortus Ripul. , App. 2: 349 (1826)
Hibiscus humboldtii hort. ex Fisch. & C.A.Mey. Index Seminum (LE, Petropolitanus) 6: 52 (1840)
Hibiscus marchallianus hort. ex Fisch. & Mey Index Seminum (LE, Petropolitanus) 9: 76 (1843)
Hibiscus pallidus Raf. ex S.Watson Bibl. Index N. Amer. Bot. : 135 (1878)
Hibiscus physodes E.Mey. ex Harv. & Sond. Fl. Cap. 1: 176 (1860)
Hibiscus trionum var. cordifolius DC. Prodr. 1: 453 (1824)
Hibiscus uniflorus E.Mey. ex Harv. & Sond. Fl. Cap. 1: 176 (1860)
Hibiscus vesicarius Cav. Diss. 3: 171 (1787)
Trionum annuum Medik. Malvenfam. : 47 (1787)
Hibiscus africanus Mill. Gard. Dict. ed. 8 : n.º 20 (1768)
Hibiscus hispidus Mill. Gard. Dict. ed. 8 : n.º 21 (1768)
Hibiscus ternatus Cav. Diss. 3: 172 (1787)
Ketmia trionum (L.) Scop. Fl. Carniol. , ed. 2, 2: 44 (1772)
Hibiscus trionum var. vesicarius Hochr. Annuaire Conserv. Jard. Bot. Genève 4: 145 (1900)
Trionum trionum Wooton & Standl. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 19: 417. 1915
Hibiscus armeniacus Bouché Allg. Gartenzeitung 8: 403 (1840)
Hibiscus cuneifolius Garcke Bot. Zeitung (Berlin) 7: 852. 1849
Hibiscus trionicus St.-Lag. Ann. Soc. Bot. Lyon vii. (1880) 127.
Hibiscus trionum var. vesicarius (Cav.) Hochr. Annuaire Conserv. Jard. Bot. Genève 4: 145. 1900
Hibiscus trionum var. ternatus DC.

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English puarangi
English modesty
English flower-of-the-hour
English bladder weed
English bladder ketmia
English bladder hibiscus
English flower-of-an-hour
English flower of an hour
English shoofly
English venice mallow
Afrikaans terblansbossie
Arabic خطمي إفريقي
Azerbaijani Üçlü hibiskus
Czech ibišek trojdílný
Welsh cetmia chwysigennog
German stundenblume
Estonian kolmetine hibisk
Persian ختمی سه رنگ
Finnish ajannäyttäjä
Finnish ajannäyttäjähibiskus
Upper Sorbian Žołta hodźinka
Hungarian varjúmák
Hungarian dinnyefű
Armenian բամբակաղբեր ուռած
Korean 수박풀
mi puarangi
Macedonian меуреста слезовина
Malayalam ഹൈബിസ്കസ് ട്രൈയോണം
Norwegian Bokmål timerose
Dutch uurbloem
Dutch drie-urenbloem
Portuguese flor-de-todas-as-horas
Romanian zămoșiță
Russian Гибискус северный
Russian Гибискус тройчатый
Slovenian navadni oslez
Swedish timvisare
Tamil ஒருமணி நேரப் பூ
Uzbek boʻritaroq
Chinese 黑芝麻
Chinese 香铃草
Chinese 火炮草
Chinese 小秋葵
Chinese 野西瓜苗子
Chinese 野西瓜苗
Chinese 灯笼花

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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Sow seeds at 20°C, expecting germination within 3 months without further temperature treatment.
Requires Darkness: These seeds need to be covered with soil or otherwise kept in the dark to germinate properly. Light inhibits their germination process.
Requires Scarification: Scarification involves physically breaking, scratching, or softening the seed coat to allow water absorption and germination to occur. This can be done by nicking the seed coat with a knife or rubbing the seeds between sheets of sandpaper.
Requires Soaking: These seeds need to be soaked in warm water until they swell, which can take 24-48 hours. Seeds that float are usually not viable and should be discarded, along with the soaking water.

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Africa
    • Northern Africa
      • Algeria
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
    • Western Indian Ocean
      • Mauritius
  • Asia-temperate
    • Caucasus
      • North Caucasus
      • Transcaucasus
    • China
      • China North-central
      • China South-central
      • China Southeast
      • Hainan
      • Inner Mongolia
      • Manchuria
      • Tibet
      • Xinjiang
    • Eastern Asia
      • Japan
      • Korea
      • Taiwan
    • Middle Asia
      • Kazakhstan
      • Kirgizstan
      • Tadzhikistan
      • Turkmenistan
      • Uzbekistan
    • Mongolia
      • Mongolia
    • Russian Far East
      • Amur
      • Primorye
    • Siberia
      • Chita
      • Irkutsk
    • Western Asia
      • Afghanistan
      • Cyprus
      • Iran
      • Iraq
      • Lebanon-Syria
      • Palestine
      • Turkey
  • Asia-tropical
    • Indian Subcontinent
      • Assam
      • Bangladesh
      • Pakistan
      • West Himalaya
    • Indo-China
      • Myanmar
  • Europe
    • Eastern Europe
      • Krym
      • South European Russia
      • Ukraine
    • Middle Europe
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Czechoslovakia
      • Germany
      • Hungary
      • Poland
    • Northern Europe
      • Great Britain
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Albania
      • Bulgaria
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Kriti
      • Romania
      • Sicilia
      • Turkey-in-Europe
      • Yugoslavia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • France
      • Portugal
      • Spain
  • Northern America
    • Eastern Canada
      • New Brunswick
      • Nova Scotia
      • Ontario
      • Prince Edward Island
      • Québec
    • North-central U.S.A.
      • Illinois
      • Iowa
      • Kansas
      • Minnesota
      • Missouri
      • Nebraska
      • North Dakota
      • Oklahoma
      • South Dakota
      • Wisconsin
    • Northeastern U.S.A.
      • Connecticut
      • Indiana
      • Maine
      • Massachusetts
      • Michigan
      • New Hampshire
      • New Jersey
      • New York
      • Ohio
      • Pennsylvania
      • Rhode Island
      • Vermont
      • West Virginia
    • Northwestern U.S.A.
      • Colorado
      • Idaho
      • Montana
      • Oregon
      • Washington
      • Wyoming
    • South-central U.S.A.
      • New Mexico
      • Texas
    • Southeastern U.S.A.
      • Alabama
      • Arkansas
      • Delaware
      • District Of Columbia
      • Florida
      • Georgia
      • Kentucky
      • Louisiana
      • Maryland
      • Mississippi
      • North Carolina
      • South Carolina
      • Tennessee
      • Virginia
    • Southwestern U.S.A.
      • Arizona
      • California
      • Utah
    • Western Canada
      • Manitoba
      • Saskatchewan
  • Southern America
    • Caribbean
      • Cuba
      • Jamaica
    • Southern South America
      • Chile Central
      • Uruguay

Links to other databases Top

Suggest others/fix!
Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0000723167
Florida Plant Atlas 1948
Flora of Alabama 2622
Canadensys 6622
USDA Plants HITR
Tropicos 19600999
INPN 101546
Flora of Italy 3137
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:122028-2
The Plant List kew-2850654
Missouri Botanical Garden 282594
Open Tree Of Life 120915
NCBI Taxonomy 183268
NBN Atlas NBNSYS0000014582
Nature Serve 2.132403
IPNI 122028-2
iNaturalist 77411
GBIF 3152560
Freebase /m/071ytq
WisFlora 3846
EPPO HIBTR
EOL 584352
Elurikkus 5080
Calflora (Californian flora) 4183
USDA GRIN 19098
Wikipedia Hibiscus_trionum

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

Below is displayed the reference genome only!
If you wish to browse all genomes for this plant click here.
Accession Assembly
Name Level Submitter Released Coverage Size
GCA_030270665.1 Htrionum_1.0 Contig Biological Networks Laboratory, National Institute of Genetics 2023-05-27 20 1.56 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.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
G-site residue S67 is involved in the fungicide-degrading activity of a tau class glutathione S-transferase from Carica papaya Wang SY, Wang YX, Yue SS, Shi XC, Lu FY, Wu SQ, Herrera-Balandrano DD, Laborda P J Biol Chem 28-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10958117
doi:10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107123
PMID:38417796
Pan-chloroplast genomes for accession-specific marker development in Hibiscus syriacus Go S, Koo H, Jung M, Hong S, Yi G, Kim YM Sci Data 27-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10899175
doi:10.1038/s41597-024-03077-7
PMID:38413611
Achieving agricultural sustainability through soybean production in Iran: Potential and challenges Majidian P, Ghorbani HR, Farajpour M Heliyon 16-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10884498
doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26389
PMID:38404839
Strawberry varieties differ in pollinator‐relevant floral traits Symington HA, Glover BJ Ecol Evol 05-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10844710
doi:10.1002/ece3.10914
PMID:38322008
Genomic Approaches Are Improving Taxonomic Representation in Genetic Studies of Speciation Delmore K, Justen H, Kay KM, Kitano J, Moyle LC, Stelkens R, Streisfeld MA, Yamasaki YY, Ross J Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 01-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10835617
doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a041438
PMID:37848243
PfPIN5 promotes style elongation by regulating cell length in Primula forbesii Franch Liu Y, Si W, Fu S, Wang J, Cheng T, Zhang Q, Pan H Ann Bot 08-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC11006536
doi:10.1093/aob/mcae004
PMID:38190350
Two independent LAMP assays for rapid identification of the serpentine leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard, 1926) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) in Australia Zhu X, Gopurenko D, Holloway JC, Duff JD, Malipatil MB Sci Rep 15-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10721864
doi:10.1038/s41598-023-49472-9
PMID:38097660
Associate plant parasitic nematodes to weed species in some newly reclaimed lands AbdelRazek GM, Balah MA Sci Rep 11-Dec-2023
PMCID:PMC10713981
doi:10.1038/s41598-023-49357-x
PMID:38081941
Genome and transcriptome analyses reveal genes involved in the formation of fine ridges on petal epidermal cells in Hibiscus trionum Koshimizu S, Masuda S, Shibata A, Ishii T, Shirasu K, Hoshino A, Arita M DNA Res 11-Sep-2023
PMCID:PMC10558197
doi:10.1093/dnares/dsad019
PMID:37691489
Morphoelastic modelling of pattern development in the petal epidermal cell cuticle Lugo CA, Airoldi C, Chen C, Crosby AJ, Glover BJ J R Soc Interface 05-Jul-2023
PMCID:PMC10320329
doi:10.1098/rsif.2023.0001
PMID:37403485
Distribution, Effect, and Control of Exotic Plants in Republic of Korea Lim BS, Seok JE, Lim CH, Kim GS, Shin HC, Lee CS Biology (Basel) 06-Jun-2023
PMCID:PMC10294914
doi:10.3390/biology12060826
PMID:37372111
Direct surface analysis mass spectrometry uncovers the vertical distribution of cuticle-associated metabolites in plants Saladin S, D'Aronco S, Ingram G, Giorio C RSC Adv 14-Mar-2023
PMCID:PMC10012332
doi:10.1039/d2ra07166e
PMID:36926302
Epidemiological role of novel and already known ‘Ca. P. solani’ cixiid vectors in rubbery taproot disease of sugar beet in Serbia Kosovac A, Ćurčić Ž, Stepanović J, Rekanović E, Duduk B Sci Rep 25-Jan-2023
PMCID:PMC9877035
doi:10.1038/s41598-023-28562-8
PMID:36697493
Ultra-Responses of Asphodelus tenuifolius L. (Wild Onion) and Convolvulus arvensis L. (Field Bindweed) against Shoot Extract of Trianthema portulacastrum L. (Horse Purslane) Hassan MS, Naz N, Ali H, Ali B, Akram M, Iqbal R, Ajmal S, Ali B, Ercisli S, Golokhvast KS, Hassan Z Plants (Basel) 19-Jan-2023
PMCID:PMC9920381
doi:10.3390/plants12030458
PMID:36771542
Analysis of Electrochemically Active Substances in Malvaceae Leaves via Electroanalytical Sensing Technology for Species Identification Wang Q, Ye W, Li D, Zhu J, Liu C, Lin C, Fu L, Xu Z Micromachines (Basel) 18-Jan-2023
PMCID:PMC9963770
doi:10.3390/mi14020248
PMID:36837948

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Gallery Top

Hibiscus trionum
Author: Sorin
Hibiscus trionum
Author: Sorin
Hibiscus trionum
Author: Sorin
Hibiscus trionum
Author: Sorin
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