Malvaceae FAMILY

Hibiscus rostellatus

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

The foliage often has stinging hairs on it[ 332 Title The Useful Plants of West Tropical Africa. Publication Author Burkil. H. M. Publisher Royal Botanic Gardens; Kew. Year 1985 - 2004 ISBN Description Brief descriptions and details of the uses of over 4,000 plants. A superb, if terse, resource, it is also available electronically on the Web - see http://www.aluka.org/ ].

Botanical Description

Hibiscus rostellatus is a much-branched, prickly, usually scrambling or climbing shrub though sometimes the stems are erect; the stems can be 4 - 5 metres long and 2 - 4cm in diameter[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. , 1671 Title Revision of Hibiscus section Furcaria (Malvaceae) in Africa and Asia Publication Bull. Nat. Hist. Mus. Lond. (Bot.) 29( 1 ): 47-79 Author Wilson F.D. Publisher Year 1999 ISBN Description ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a food and a medicine. The foliage is said to repel reptiles.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeTropical Africa - Senegal to Ethiopia, south to Angola, Mozambique and northeast S. Africa

HabitatRiverine forest, edges of humid or flooded forest associations, depressions, savannah, river banks, swamp, clearings, cultivations; at elevations up to 1,400 metres[ 328 Title African Flowering Plants Database Publication Author Website http://www.ville-ge.ch/musinfo/bd/cjb/africa/recherche.php Publisher Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques. Year 0 ISBN Description Contains information on over 150,000 plant names (including synonyms) giving a description and habitat, plus a distribution map. ].