''Hibiscus mutabilis'', also known as the Confederate rose, Dixie rosemallow, cotton rose or cotton rosemallow, is a plant long cultivated for its showy flowers. Originally native to southern

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, it is now found on all continents except

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

Description

Confederate roses are

semi-deciduous Semi-deciduous or semi-evergreen is a botanical term which refers to plants that lose their foliage for a very short period, when old leaves fall off and new foliage growth is starting. This phenomenon occurs in tropical and sub-tropical wood ...

with palmately lobed leaves. They tend to be large shrubs or treelike in zones 9 and 10, though they have a more modest shrub-like appearance more north. Stems and

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

s feature dense stellate and glandular hairs. Flowers can be double or single and are in diameter; they open white or pink, and change to deep red by evening. The 'Rubra' variety has red flowers. Single blooming flowers are generally cup-shaped. Bloom season usually lasts from summer through fall. When it does not freeze, the Confederate rose can reach heights of with a woody trunk. However, a much bushier plant high is more typical and provides more flowering. The flowers are attractive to

pollinators A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the ma ...

, including the specialized

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

Ptilothrix bombiformis ''Ptilothrix bombiformis'', known generally as the hibiscus bee or eastern digger bee, is a species of chimney bee in the family Apidae Apidae is the largest family within the superfamily Apoidea, containing at least 5700 species of bees. The ...

.''

Cultivation

Propagation by cuttings root easiest in early spring, but cuttings can be taken at almost any time. These plants have a very fast growth rate. The Confederate rose was at one time very prevalent in the area of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, which is how its common name was derived. It grows nicely in full sun or partial shade, and prefers rich, well-drained soil. In cultivation in the UK, ''Hibiscus mutabilis'' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Floral color change

Floral color change Floral color change occurs in flowers in a wide range of angiosperm taxa that undergo a color change associated with their age, or after successful pollination. History The first written record of the term ''floral color change'' was in 1877 wh ...

occurs in ''H. mutabilis'' when flowers are white in the morning, turning pink during noon and red in the evening of the same day. Under laboratory conditions, the color change of the

petals Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''coroll ...

was slower than that of flowers under outdoor conditions. Temperature may be an important factor, affecting the rate of color change as white flowers kept in the refrigerator remain white until they are taken out to warm up, whereupon they slowly turn pink. The red flowers remain on plants for several days before they abort. Weight of a single detached flower was when white, when pink and when red.

Anthocyanin Anthocyanins (), also called anthocyans, are solubility, water-soluble vacuole, vacuolar pigments that, depending on their pH, may appear red, purple, blue, or black. In 1835, the German pharmacist Ludwig Clamor Marquart named a chemical compou ...

content of red flowers was three times that of pink flowers and eight times that of white flowers. There was a significant increase in phenolic content with color change. Overall ranking of

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

properties of ''H. mutabilis'' flowers was red > pink > white. Subramanian and Nair postulated that anthocyanins in pink and red flowers of ''H. mutabilis'' are synthesized independently since there is no reduction in phenolic content. However, Lowry suggested that anthocyanins are formed through direct conversion from

flavonols Flavonols are a class of flavonoids that have the 3-hydroxyflavone backbone (IUPAC name: 3-hydroxy-2-phenylchromen-4-one). Their diversity stems from the different positions of the phenolic –OH groups. They are distinct from flavanols (with ...

as they have structural similarities.

References

External links

{{Authority control mutabilis Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Flora of China