Wild Hibiscus militaris Near Fitzgerald Georgia

Thank you Michael. Both flowers the buds actually looked pale yellow. The camera does not capture the color very well. The first and smaller one I did not notice fully opened, they all seemed to be partially opened. It was raining so I thought that may have something to do with it.Hopefully I will have sucess in digging up the aculeatus. I will try to get a big root ball with the soil in tact.

Do you think I should plan a trip to Fitzgerald now? The above have been blooming for about 2-3 weeks now.

According weather forecast, there is going to be a 50% or better chance of thunder storms about Fitzgerald GA for the next four days, so next weekend may be a good time to explore Fitzgerald GA. If you are checking Taylor Road, don’t forget Adams Road which is immediately to the south of Taylor Road and up stream as the water is flowing from south to north. Darien, GA is near the Atlantic Ocean so it is going to be warmer and wetter there and the flowers may bloom earlier. Also, remember that we are dealing with three different species of Hibiscus and it is dangerous to extrapolate behavior without supporting evidence.

Two years ago in southern New Jersey I visited a salt marsh which I absolutely knew contained thousands of Hibiscus moscheutos, of the same type you found, and was unable to see a single flower as conditions had been very dry. That night there is a light rain and the next day the same marsh was ablaze with flowers. Hibiscus moscheutos will synchronize blooming with the onset of rain. As I have not observed Hibiscus militaris in the wild, I can’t predict how that species will behave.

Be sure to bring permanent markers with you to identify the location in the future and take photographs and GPS coordinates of everything.

Good plant hunting,

Mike

The USGS streamflow maps suggest that drought conditions in Georgia are easing. The area about Fitzgerald Georgia and to the south are no longer in drought conditions. In areas of Georgia which have not returned to normal, the USGA lists them as “Below Normal” which is a big improvement. If the Hibiscus militaris along Taylor Road survived, this may be a good time to start looking for it.

Map of below normal 7-day average streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the day of year (Georgia)
http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/?m=dryw&r=ga&w=dryw%2Cmap

GAgirl1066 had reported on collecting Hibiscus aculeatus in eastern Georgia. While cleaning my front garden, I discovered that one Hibiscus aculeatus, which I planted three years from seed, had survived. I had to move the Hibiscus but it appears to be doing well for now. I hope to find a strain of H. aculeatus which can not only survive a Zone 6 winter but also flower and set seeds before the snows come. I was surprised to learn that H. aculeatus will bloom in June in Georgia; in the north it is a fall bloomer, if it blooms at all and sets seeds. The problem with gardening in Zone 6 is that you run out of summer too quickly.

Good plant hunting,

Mike

Correction Start

In my original post I identified a third Style Color Pattern as follows.

Hibiscus aculeatus Style Color Patterns
3. Burgundy stigma with light-yellow pollen and anthers.

In reviewing the pictures, I realized that the plant with third color pattern is Abelmoschus (Hibiscus) manihot and not Hibiscus aculeatus. Sometime this plant is incorrectly identified on the Internet as Hibiscus aculeatus. At one time Abelmoschu manihot was known as Hibiscus manihot. My apologies for not catching this error sooner.

Correction Stop

Sometimes we miss the obvious, as I failed to note the significance of the Hibiscus aculeatus photograph you posted. Note the light-yellow color of the stigma at the tip of the style, with just a hint of burgundy colored pollen on the anthers.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/fp.php?pid=9159763

The announcement of the death of my last Hibiscus aculeatus was premature. After my June 11, 2012 post, I discovered that one additional Hibiscus aculeatus had survived the construction about my home. I transplanted the Hibiscus to a 10” grower’s pot which was placed in a cement mixing tub with 4” to 5” of standing water, with other water loving Hibiscus. On September 3, 2012 the Hibiscus aculeatus bloomed and successfully set seeds after being hand pollinate with its own pollen. In the folowing URL note the burgundy color of the stigma and pollen laden anthers, at the tip and along the length of the style; the photograph is also attached below.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=9304786

Now review the pictures in the PlantFiles and note the colors of the structures attached to the style. Note that the fourth picture is Abelmoschu manihot.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/341633/

Now review the Hibiscus aculeatus pictures on the Internet:

http://images.google.com/search?num=100&tbm=isch&q=Hibiscus+aculeatus

With your photograph, my photograph, the photographs in PlantFiles and the Internet, two color patterns are emerging for the reproduction structures of Hibiscus aculeatus.

Hibiscus aculeatus Style Color Patterns
1. Burgundy stigma with burgundy pollen and anthers.
2. Light-yellow stigma with burgundy pollen and anthers.

For color pattern #2 the petals are distinctly more yellow. For color pattern #1 the petals are white. I became interested in Hibiscus aculeatus because of it reported yellow petal color and limited cold tolerance. I was very disappointed when my Hibiscus aculeatus produced white flowers but I am now beginning to understand why. I believe there is a very real possibility of hybridizing Hibiscus aculeatus with the ornamental African Hibiscus radiatus and Hibiscus acetosella species to produce more cold tolerant hybrids.

Please keep me update on the plant hunt.

Mike
p.s. At some point we should move this discussion to the Hibiscus Forum.

This message was edited Oct 17, 2012 12:43 PM