Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, known colloquially as Chinese hibiscus, China rose, Hawaiian hibiscus, rose mallow and shoeblack plant, is a cultigen of tropical hibiscus, a flowering plant in the Hibisceae tribe of the family Malvaceae. It is an artificial hybrid created in cultivation in pre-European times by Polynesians in the west Pacific from the species Hibiscus cooperi and H. kaute. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant in the tropics and subtropics. Cultivars and hybrids have flowers in a variety of colors as well as red: white, pink, orange, peach, yellow, blue, and purple. Some plants have double flowers. When the hibiscus begins to bloom, the flower's petals begin to grow.
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