Hawaiian hibiscus

Hawaiian hibiscus are seven species of

The native plants in the genus Hibiscus in Hawaii are thought to have derived from four independent colonization events for the five endemic species (four closely related species plus the yellow-flowered species) and one each for the two indigenous species.^[1]

Native species

The native hibiscus found in Hawaii are:

• Waianae Range of western Oahu; H. a. ssp. immaculatus which is very rare (listed as endangered) on Molokai; and H. a. ssp. punaluuensis from the Koʻolau Range on Oahu. Perhaps only a dozen plants of H. a. ssp. immaculatus exist in nature in mesic and wet forests.^[2] This species is closely related to H. waimeae, and the two are among the very few members of the genus with fragrant flowers. It is sometimes planted as an ornamental or crossed with H. rosa-sinensis. In the Hawaiian language, the white hibiscus is known as the pua aloalo.^[3]
• official state flower of Hawaii on 6 June 1988,^[5]
  and although endangered in its natural habitats, has become a moderately popular ornamental in Hawaiian yards.
• Hibiscus clayi O.Deg. & I.Deg. is an endemic shrub or small tree with bright red flowers, generally similar to H. kokio, and found in nature on Kauai in dry forests. It is listed as endangered by USFWS.
• Hibiscus furcellatus Desr. is a pink-flowered hibiscus considered an indigenous species, typically found in low and marshy areas of the Caribbean, Florida, Central and South America, and Hawaii, where it is known as ʻakiohala, ʻakiahala, hau hele, and hau hele wai ("entirely puce
  hau").
• Hibiscus kokio Hillebr., kokiʻo or kokiʻo ʻula ("red kokiʻo") is a shrub or small tree (3–7 m or 9.8–23.0 ft) with red to orangish (or rarely yellow) flowers. This endemic species is not officially listed, but considered rare in nature. Two subspecies are recognized: H. kokio ssp. kokio found in dry to wet forests on Kauai, Oahu, Maui, and possibly Hawaii at elevations of 70–800 m (230–2,620 ft);^[6] and H. k. ssp. saintjohnianus from northwestern Kauai at elevations of 150–890 m (490–2,920 ft).^[7]
• Hibiscus tiliaceus L., hau, is a spreading shrub or tree common to the tropics and subtropics, especially in coastal areas. This species is possibly indigenous to Hawaii, but may have been introduced by the early Polynesians.
• Waimea Canyon
  and some western to southern valleys on Kauai. This species closely resembles H. arnottianus in a number of characteristics.