Hibiscus schizopetalus is a species of Hibiscus native to tropical eastern Africa in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. Its common names include fringed rosemallow, Japanese lantern, coral hibiscus, and spider hibiscus.
Hibiscus schizopetalus is a shrub growing to 3 m tall.
The red or pink flowers are very distinctive in their frilly, finely divided petals.
Flowers with finely dissected petal have a range of colours, the most common being the red form (Keena et al., 2002; Ng, 2006). Leaves resemble those of H. rosa-sinensis.
The major anthocyanin found in flowers of H. schizopetalus is cyanidin-3-sambusophoroside (Lowry, 1976). From leaves, two new triterpene esters have been isolated (Jose & Vijayan, 2006).
Cultivation: Hibiscus schizopetalus is cultivated as an ornamental plant, for use in tropical and subtropical gardens. In temperate climates it does not tolerate temperatures below 10 C (RHS hardiness rating H1B); but can be placed outside during the summer months, in a sheltered spot with full sun, in alkaline or neutral soil. It has received the Royal Horticultural Society´s Award of Garden Merit.
Source: Wikipedia, article Hibiscus schizopetalus.
Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
Accessed on 18/07/2026.