Printer Friendly
The Free Dictionary
966,867,810 visitors served.
?
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

hibiscus

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Medical, Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.04 sec.
hibiscus: see mallow mallow, common name for members of the Malvaceae, a family of herbs and shrubs distributed over most of the world and especially abundant in the American tropics. Tropical species sometimes grow as small trees.
..... Click the link for more information. .

hibiscus

Enlarge picture
China rose (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)
(credit: Sven Samelius)
Any of about 250 species of shrubs, trees, and herbaceous plants that make up the genus Hibiscus, in the mallow family, native to warm temperate and tropical regions. Several are cultivated as ornamentals for their showy flowers. The tropical Chinese hibiscus, or China rose (H. rosa-sinensis), has large, somewhat bell-shaped reddish blossoms. The East African hibiscus (H. schizopetalus), a drooping shrub, is often grown in hanging baskets indoors. Other members of the genus include okra, rose of Sharon, and many flowering plants known by the common name mallow.

hibiscus
symbol of beauty. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 174]
See : Beauty
hibiscus
of Malaysia. [Flower Symbolism: WB, 7: 264]
See : Flower Or Plant, National
hibiscus
of Hawaii. [Flower Symbolism: Golenpaul, 629]
See : Flower, State
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
 Email
Feedback
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Hair of cloud o'er face of flower, Nodding plumes where she alights, In the white hibiscus bower She lingers through the soft spring nights -- Nights too short, though wearing late Till the mimosa days are born.
A Lute of Jade by Cranmer-Byng, L. View in context
She pretended that she was making a flower-bed, and she stuck big scarlet hibiscus blossoms into little heaps of earth, all the time growing more and more angry and muttering to herself the things she would say and the names she would call Saidie when she returned.
The Secret Garden by Burnett, Frances Hodgson View in context
A straight, dry, and partly decayed stick of the Hibiscus, about six feet in length, and half as many inches in diameter, with a small, bit of wood not more than a foot long, and scarcely an inch wide, is as invariably to be met with in every house in Typee as a box of lucifer matches in the corner of a kitchen cupboard at home.
Typee by Melville, Herman View in context
More results
 
Encyclopedia browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Encyclopedia
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.