HIBISCUS, SYRIAN MALLOW

HIBISCUS, SYRIAN MALLOW; a genus of the po-

lyandria order, belonging to the monodelphia class of Hibiscus plants.

Species. Of this genus there are 25 species; the most remarkable are, 1. The Syracus, commonly called althea frutex, is a native of Syria. It rises with shrubby stalks to the height of eight or ten feet, sending out many woody branches covered with a smooth grey bark, garnished with oval spear-shaped leaves, whose upper parts are frequently divided into three lobes. The flowers come out from the wings of the stalk at every joint of the same year's shoot. They are large, and shaped like those of the mallow, having five large roundish petals which join at their base, spreading open at the top, in shape of an open bell. These appear in August; and if the season is not too warm, there will be a succession of flowers till September. The flowers are succeeded by short capsules, with five cells, filled with kidney-shaped seeds; but unless the season proves warm, they will not ripen in this country. Of this species there are four or five varieties, differing in the colour of their flowers: the most common hath pale purple flowers with dark bottoms; another hath bright purple flowers with black bottoms; a third hath white flowers with purple bottoms; and a fourth, variegated flowers with dark bottoms. There are also two with variegated leaves, which are by some much esteemed. All these varieties are very ornamental in a garden. 2. The Chinensis is a native of the East Indies, whence it has got the name of China rose; but the seeds having been carried by the French to their West India settlements, it hath thence obtained the name of Martinico rose. Of this there are the double and single flowering kinds; the seeds of the first frequently produce plants that have only single flowers, but the latter seldom vary to the double kind. The plant has a soft spungy stem, which by age becomes ligneous and pithy. It rises to the height of 12 or 14 feet, sending out branches towards the top, which are hairy, garnished with heart-shaped leaves, cut into five acute angles on their borders, and slightly sawed on their edges; of a lucid green on their upper side, but pale below. The flowers are produced from the wings of the leaves; the single are composed of five petals which spread open, and are at first white, but afterwards change to a bluish rose colour, and as they decay turn purple. In the West Indies, all these alterations happen on the same day, and the flowers themselves are of no longer duration; but in Britain the changes are not so sudden. The flowers are surrounded by short, thick, blunt, capsules, which are very hairy; having five cells, which contain many small kidney-shaped seeds, having a fine plume of fibrous down adhering to them. 3. The almoschus, or musk, is a native of the West Indies, where the French cultivate great quantities of it. The plant rises with an herbaceous stalk three or four feet high, sending out two or three side-branches, garnished with large leaves cut into six or seven acute angles, sawed on their edges, having long footstalks, and placed alternately. The stalks and leaves of this sort are very hairy. The flowers come out from the wings of the leaves upon pretty long footstalks which stand erect. They are large, of a sulphur colour, with purple bottoms; and are succeeded by pyramidal five-cornered capsules, which open in five cells, filled with large kidney-shaped seeds of a

Hibiscus. very musky odour. 4. The tiliaceus, or maho-tree, is a native of both the Indies. It rises with a woody, pithy stem, to the height of ten feet, dividing into several branches towards the top, which are covered with a woolly down, garnished with heart-shaped leaves ending in acute points. They are of a lucid green on their upper side, and hoary on the under side, full of large veins, and are placed alternately. The flowers are produced in loose spikes at the end of the branches, and are of a whitish-yellow colour. They are succeeded by short acuminate capsules, opening in five cells, filled with kidney-shaped seeds. 5. The javanica grows naturally on the coast of Malabar. It rises with a woody stalk 12 or 14 feet high, dividing into many small branches towards the top, garnished with oval sawed leaves ending in acute points, of a lucid green above, but pale on their under side, placed without order. The flowers come out from the sides of the branches at the wings of the leaves on pretty long footstalks. They are composed of many oblong roundish petals of a red colour, which expand like the rose; the flowers being as large when fully blown as the common red rose, and as double. 6. The gossypifolius, with a cotton leaf, is a native of the West Indies, and rises with an herbaceous stem three feet high, sending out several lateral branches, which are garnished with smooth leaves divided into five lobes. The flowers come out at the side of the branches. They are of a dirty white, with dark purple bottoms, and are succeeded by obtuse seed-vessels divided into five cells, which are filled with kidney-shaped seeds. 7. The trionum, Venice mallow, or flower of an hour, is a native of some parts of Italy, and has long been cultivated in the gardens of this country. It rises with a branching stalk a foot and an half high, having many short spines, which are soft, and do not appear unless closely viewed: the leaves are divided into three lobes, which are deeply jagged almost to the midrib. The flowers come out at the joints of the stalks, upon pretty long footstalks. They have a double empalement; the outer being composed of ten long narrow leaves, which join at their base: the inner is of one thin leaf swollen like a bladder, cut into five acute segments at the top, having many longitudinal purple ribs, and is hairy. Both these are permanent, and inclose the capsule after the flower is past. The flower is composed of five obtuse petals, which spread open at the top; the lower part forming an open bell-shaped flower. These have dark purple bottoms, but are of a pale sulphur-colour above. In hot weather the flowers continue but a few hours open; however, there is a succession of flowers that open daily for a considerable time. 8. The ficifolia, or ketmia of the Brasils, with a fig-leaf, is common in the West Indies. It rises with a soft herbaceous stalk from three to five feet high, dividing upward into many branches garnished with hand-shaped leaves, divided into five lobes. The flowers are produced from the wings of the stalks; they are of a pale sulphur-colour with dark purple bottoms, but are of a very short duration; opening in the morning with the rising sun, and fading long before noon in hot weather. They are succeeded by capsules of very different forms, in the different varieties. In some, the capsules are not thicker than a man's finger, and five or six inches long; in others, they are very thick, and not more than two

or three inches long; in some plants they grow erect, in others they are inclined, &c.

Culture. The first sort may be propagated either by seeds or cuttings. The seeds may be sown in pots filled with light earth about the latter end of March, and the young plants transplanted about the same time next year. They will succeed in the full ground; but must be covered in winter whilst young, otherwise they are apt to be destroyed. The second sort is propagated by seeds, which must be sown in a hot-bed. The young plants are to be transplanted into small separate pots, and treated like other tender vegetables, only allowing them a good share of air. The third sort is annual in this country, though biennial in those places where it is native. It is propagated by seeds, and must be treated in the manner directed for Amaranth. The fourth, fifth, sixth, and eighth sorts require the same treatment with the third. The seventh is propagated by seeds, which should be sown where the plants are designed to remain, for they do not bear transplanting well. They require no other culture than to be kept free from weeds, and thinned where they are too close; and if the seeds are permitted to scatter, the plants will come up fully as well as if they had been sown.

Uses. The third sort is cultivated in the West Indies by the French, for the sake of its seeds. These are annually sent to France in great quantities, and form a considerable branch of trade, but the purposes which they answer are not certainly known. The flowers of the fifth kind are used by the Indian women of Malabar for colouring their hair and eyebrows of a black that will not wash off. The Europeans there use it for blacking their shoes, and thence have named it the shoe-flower. The green pods of the sixth sort have the taste of sorrel, and are used by the West Indians for giving an acid taste to their viands. The eighth sort is also cultivated by the West Indians for the sake of its pods. These they gather green to put into their soups; and having a soft viscous juice, they add a thickness to the soup which renders it very palatable.

HICETAS of Syracuse, an ancient philosopher and astronomer, who taught that the sun and stars were motionless, and that the earth moved round them. This is mentioned by Cicero, and probably gave the first hint of the true system to Copernicus. He flourished 344 B. C.