Hibiscus heterophyllus
| Hibiscus heterophyllus | |
| Light: |  |
| Moisture: |  |
| Hardiness: | 10 |
| Soil pH: | 5.6-8.4 |
| Evergreen | |
| Height: | 6' |
| Native to: | |
| Edible Rating: |  |
| Tea: | Yes |
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Hibiscus heterophyllus (common name: native rosella)
Propagation: Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually fairly rapid. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing them as annuals, plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer and protect them with a frame or cloche until they are growing away well. If hoping to grow them as perennials, then it is better to grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year and to plant them out in early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Overwinter them in a warm greenhouse and plant out after the last expected frosts.
Cultivation: Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in full sun[1]. Suitable for waterside plantings[1].
This species is not very hardy in Britain, it is unlikely to succeed outdoors even in the mildest areas of the country. However, it might be possible to grow it as a half-hardy annual, to flower in its first year from seed.
Range: Australia - New South Wales, Queensland.
Habitat: Moist eucalyptus forests, jungle gullies and rainforest edges[2][3].
Edibility: Leaves and young shoots - raw or cooked. Pleasantly acid[2][4][3]. An excellent spinach substitute, the boiled leaves losing their acidity[3].
Flowers and flower buds - raw or cooked[5]. A very mild flavour[2].
Root - it is edible but very fibrousy[2]. Mucilaginous, without very much flavour[2]. The roots of young plants are used[3].
Usage: A tough fibre obtained from the stems is used for making nets etc[6][3].
Pollinators: Insects
Soil: Can grow in light, medium, and heavy soils.
Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.
In Leaf: Evergreen
Flower Type: Hermaphrodite
Links
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Cribb, Alan and Joan Cribb. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana, 1976.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Low, Tim. Wild Food Plants of Australia. Angus and Robertson, 1989.
- ↑ Kunkel, Günther. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books, 1984.
- ↑ Wrigley, John and Murray Fagg. Australian Native Plants. Collins, 1988.
- ↑ Cribb, Alan. Useful Wild Plants in Australia. William Collins, 1981.