Hibiscus coulteri
Hibiscus coccineus
Coulter's hibiscus, desert rose-mallow
brilliant hibiscus, scarlet rose-mallow, Texas star
stellate hairs of younger stems dense, appressed, 4-armed, arms approximate in pairs, aligned with stem axis, lines of fine, curved hairs absent or obscured;
older growth grayish, rough, glabrescent.
glaucous.
stipules linear-subulate, 3–10 mm;
petiole primarily in distal 1/2, sometimes themselves shallowly pinnately lobed, surfaces scabridulous, hairs appressed-stellate, obscure nectary present abaxially on midvein near base.
stipules caducous, linear-subulate, 1–3 mm;
petiole 1/3 to equaling blade;
blade orbiculate to transversely elliptic, deeply palmately 3–5-lobed, 10–19 × 13–25 cm, base cordate, segments linear-lanceolate, margins remotely, unevenly serrate, apices acuminate, surfaces glabrous, nectary absent.
solitary flowers in axils of distal leaves.
solitary flowers in axils of distal leaves.
jointed below apices, to 17 cm, usually much exceeding subtending leaves;
involucellar bractlets 8–14, linear-subulate, 1–2 cm, margins ciliate.
jointed distally, 3–14 cm, 1/3–1 3/4 petioles;
involucellar bractlets 9–15, linear-subulate, 2.5–4 cm, not ciliate.
erect or ascending;
calyx divided 3/4+ length, funnelform, 1.4–2.2 cm, equaling or slightly exceeding involucel, lobes narrowly lanceolate-triangular, margins ciliate, apices attenuate, nectaries absent;
corolla rotate, petals yellow to cream, usually with dark to obscure maroon lines basally, asymmetrically obovate to broadly obovate, 1.6–4 × 1–3.5 cm, margins ± entire, sparingly hairy abaxially where exposed in bud;
staminal column straight, yellow or cream, 0.6–1.4 cm, bearing filaments throughout, free portion of filaments not secund, 1–3 mm;
pollen yellow-orange;
styles cream, 1.5–5 mm;
stigmas maroon or cream.
showy, horizontal or ascending;
calyx divided 3/4 length, rotate, 3.5–6 cm, larger in and longer than fruit, lobes narrowly triangular, apices acute to acuminate, nectaries absent;
corolla rotate, petals not overlapping, bright red, narrowly spatulate-obovate, (6–)7.5–10 × 2.5–5.5 cm, minutely hairy abaxially where exposed in bud;
staminal column straight, exserted, red, pink to white basally, 6.5–7 cm, bearing filaments in distal 1/3, free portion of filaments not secund, 4–8 mm;
pollen dull yellow to dull red;
styles red, 5–9 mm;
stigmas red.
pale olivaceous gray with darker median stripe on each valve, ovoid or ellipsoid, 0.7–1.7 cm, to 2/3 calyces, apex rounded, hairy near apex or glabrous throughout.
brown, ovoid to globose, 2.8–3.5 cm, apex acute, apiculate, glabrous.
dark brown, angulately reniform-ovoid, 2.4–3 mm, silky-hairy ± throughout.
brown, reniform-globose, 2.5–3.8 mm, hairy, hairs often in lines, brownish to reddish.
= 38.
Hibiscus coulteri
Hibiscus coccineus
Hibiscus coulteri has been recorded in the southern half of Arizona; in Otero County, New Mexico; and in the region west of the Pecos River in Texas.
A naturally occurring hybrid between Hibiscus coulteri and H. denudatus (Hibiscus ×sabei Weckesser) has recently been documented from western Texas (W. Weckesser 2011).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Except for the Florida records and two very old ones from Georgia, the distribution of Hibiscus coccineus given here is based on relatively recent reports and almost certainly represents escapes from cultivation rather than a natural distribution.
A rare, white-flowered form is known from southern Florida and is now in the horticultural trade. Petal color in Hibiscus coccineus has been shown to be under the control of a simple diallelic locus in which red is completely dominant over white (L. A. Gettys 2012).
In 1871, A. W. Chapman found plants of Hibiscus coccineus in eastern Florida that bore distinctive, shallowly-lobed leaves and his specimens form the basis for H. semilobatus. No extant populations of this variant have been rediscovered.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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