anybody heard of hibiscus columnaris?

it's supposed to be rather rare, with yellow flower. here is a pic of the leaves. also known as wild hibiscus. your input will be greatly appreciated.

I have never heard of it before! Thanks for sharing. I googled it and found a few pics of it. It is really pretty. The leaves look like Abutilon leaves and the flower looks like a hibiscus... very interesting with the two together! :) Abutilon (flowering maple) and Hibiscus are apart of the same family. I only found two pictures of it ... does it open fully or does the flower open like a cup/bell? The two pics that came up had a bell type flower. Either way it is beautiful and different!

Sincerely,
Vanessa

vanessa, I googled the h.columnaris and it led me to a french website. every time I clicked on their pics my computer would freeze up so I gave up looking for the flower.

And you're right about leaves looking like abutilons. I kept looking at the leaves and looking, with that feeling that they were familiar, but it wasn't til you mentioned it that I realized--abutilons! lol

I was told that this was one of those that everybody grew a long time ago and it just because out of style, so to speak. Apparently it is experiencing a revival of sorts.

Vossner,
The french website is the same pictures I found! I couldn't get to enlarge through the website, so I enlarged it by clicking the google image. Let me know if that helps you out. If not, maybe I would dmail you a link to the enlarged image?

:) Ha ha I am happy I helped you bring the two pieces of puzzle together! That is wonderful it's starting to peak eveyones interest again! It deserves to be admired in everyones gardens or home. He he.

This looks really similar to the confederate rose leaf or the one the single pink with a red center I was told was called a cottonwood hibiscus. It is just a little different.

I think I need one of those. Yellow wow

This message was edited Aug 9, 2008 2:37 AM

that is a good call. I have a feeling that the flower on hib. columnaris and the flower on hib. tiliaceous (cottonwood) are gonna be rather similar. However, if one looks at the leaves on these hibbies, they are entirely different, column. is abutilon-like, tiliaceous is round.

I will definitely try to post a good pic of columnaris as there are hardly any on the net.

by coincidence, h. paramutabilis var. Terri's Pink is blooming today. It doesn't have shiny leaves, so I would characterize it as a hardy hibby. Unlike mutabilis which blooms in the fall, this one is supposed to bloom summer and fall, which is what it's doing for me. para is an prefix meaning "near" so in this case it should mean mutabilis-like, whatever that may be, lol.

notice leaf of h. paramutabilis are very similar to h. columnaris, only smaller.

The leaves look very similar to a tree called Mahoe that grows here in S Fl. It is a relative of the Hibiscus & gets very large. sometimes 40 to 50 ft It is also tropical, cold sensitive.

This is my variegated Mahoe which has been outdoors for 2 years now. The leaves are rounder on mine, Nery's plant has leaves with little points.

A close up of my Mahoe leaves.

My first thought on the columnaris was that it was a Mahoe too.

Wow Ardesia you 'Mahoe' heart variegated leaves are beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Do you have a picture of the blooms? If not what color of blooms do they have?


This message was edited Aug 13, 2008 10:00 PM

Thanks, it is one of my favorite plants. This one has never bloomed for me but I believe the flower is yellow. It does lose it's leaves in the winter here in 9a, but they pop right out again in the spring.

The flowes on thhe green one bloom yellow in the morn & gradually turn a burgundy red by the end og the day. I don't have pics it.
. It is on the beach where my other home is.

This message was edited Aug 13, 2008 10:25 PM

I wonder if they don't bloom because they are decidious here, maybe they just don't have time??? Those flowers sound wonderful but I'll settle for the colorful leaves.

ardesia I don't know but come to think of it, I've never seen one in bloom in my area.

Nery, how is the columnaris doing? Did it survive being beaten up by that bully Hanna?

it is doing great. strangely none of my short stuff was bothered by the dang hurricane. but no blooms.

progress report: Plant has not been protected during winter (what winter?) and it continues to grow. Today I found two buds, yipee! Crossing my fingers that a sudden cold snap won't ruin the buds.