''Thespesia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of 14

flowering Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s and

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

s in the ''

Hibiscus ''Hibiscus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. The genus is quite large, comprising List of Hibiscus species, several hundred species that are Native plant, native to warm temperate, Subtropics, subtropical ...

'' family,

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (''

Gossypium ''Gossypium'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Gossypieae of the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae, from which cotton is harvested. It is native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Old World, Old and New Worlds. There are abo ...

''). The genus is distributed from the

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

through Asia, Africa, and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

Selected species

14 species are currently accepted. *'' Thespesia acutiloba'' (Baker f.) Exell & Mendonça –

Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...

and

KwaZulu Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

*''

Thespesia beatensis ''Thespesia'' is a genus of 14 flowering shrubs and trees in the ''Hibiscus'' family, Malvaceae, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (''Gossypium''). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific through As ...

'' (Urb.) Fryxell –

Beata Island Beata Island () is a small island on the Caribbean Sea, located southwest from Cape Beata. Some southwest of it lies the smaller Alto Velo Island. It is politically part of the Dominican Republic, and is roughly triangle-shaped and fairly flat ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

*'' Thespesia cubensis'' (Britton & P.Wilson) J.B.Hutch. –

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

*'' Thespesia danis'' Oliv. – eastern and southern Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and eastern Tanzania *'' Thespesia fissicalyx'' Borss.Waalk. – eastern and northeastern New Guinea *'' Thespesia garckeana'' F.Hoffm. – Nigeria to Sudan and northern South Africa *''

Thespesia grandiflora ''Thespesia grandiflora'', most commonly known as Maga, and also referred to as Maga Colorada ("Red Maga") and Puerto Rican hibiscus, is a tree in the family Malvaceae of the rosids clade endemic to Puerto Rico, where its flower is officially rec ...

DC. Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candolle ...

- Maga –

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

*'' Thespesia gummiflua'' Capuron – northern Madagascar *''

Thespesia mossambicensis ''Thespesia mossambicensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is endemic to Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the India ...

'' (Exell & Hillc.) Fryxell – northeastern Mozambique *''

Thespesia multibracteata ''Thespesia'' is a genus of 14 flowering shrubs and trees in the ''Hibiscus'' family, Malvaceae, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (''Gossypium''). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific through As ...

'' Borss.Waalk. – New Guinea *'' Thespesia patellifera'' Borss.Waalk. – eastern New Guinea *''

Thespesia populnea ''Thespesia populnea'', commonly known as the portia tree (), Pacific rosewood, Indian tulip tree, or milo, among other names, is a species of flowering plant belonging to the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is a tree found commonly on coasts ar ...

'' (L.) Sol. ex Corrêa - Portia tree –

Pantropical A pantropical ("all tropics") distribution is one which covers tropical regions of both the Eastern and Western hemispheres. Examples of species include caecilians, modern sirenians and the plant genera ''Acacia'' and ''Bacopa''. ''Neotropical' ...

*''

Thespesia populneoides ''Thespesia'' is a genus of 14 flowering shrubs and trees in the ''Hibiscus'' family, Malvaceae, although within the family they are more closely related to cotton plants (''Gossypium''). The genus is distributed from the South Pacific through A ...

'' (Roxb.) Kostel. – eastern coastal Africa, Madagascar, Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Philippines, Java, New Guinea, and northern Australia *'' Thespesia robusta'' – southeastern Papua New Guinea

References

External links

*
Thespesia populnea
at Australian native hibiscus and hibiscus like species. * Malvaceae genera {{Gossypieae-stub