Plant: shrub; usually less than 1 m tall, the stems with appressed 4-armed hairs, the arms aligned longitudinally
Leaves: trifoliolate (except juvenile leaves simple), the leaflets 3-5 times as long as wide, hispid, 1.5-3 cm long
Flowers: solitary, short- or long-pedicellate; bracts of involucel linear, ciliate; calyx 17-20 mm long; petals 2-3(-4) cm long, yellow with or without purplish basal spot
Fruit: FRUITS ovoid capsules, hispid, 9-10 mm long. SEEDS 2.5-3 mm long, densely sericeous, the hairs 4-5 mm long
Misc: Dry, open hillsides and canyons; 300-1200 m (1000-4000 ft); flowering throughout the year
REFERENCES: Fryxell, Paul A. 1994. Malvaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27(2), 222-236.
Common Name: desert rosemallow
Duration: Perennial
Nativity: Native
Lifeform: Subshrub
General: Straggly shrub usually less than 1 m tall, stems with appressed 4-armed hairs, the arms aligned longitudinally.
Leaves: Trifoliolate (except juvenile leaves simple), the leaflets 3-5 times as long as wide, hispid, 1.5-3 cm long.
Flowers: Short or long pedicellate, bracts of involucel linear, ciliate; calyx 17-20 mm long; petals 2-3 cm long, yellow with or without purplish basal spot.
Fruits: Ovoid capsule, hispid, 9-10 mm long.
Ecology: Found on dry, open hillsides and in canyons from 1,000-4,000 ft (305-1219 m); flowers throughout the year.
Distribution: AZ, s NM, s TX; south to c MEX.
Notes: Told apart from other Hibiscus by its straggly habit; the uniformly pubescent stems with appressed hairs wich are distinctly woody at the base; three-lobed, dark-green leaves with narrow lobes on the upper leaves; the yellow flowers with dark red stigmas and hairy seeds.
Ethnobotany: Unknown
Etymology: Hibiscus is from the ancient Greek and Latin name for a mallow-like plant that is derived from Ibis, an Egyptian diety, while coulteri is named for Dr. Thomas Coulter (1793-1843) and Irish botanist who was the first to collect in Arizona.
Synonyms: Hibiscus coulteri var. brevipedunculatus
Editor: SBuckley 2010, FSCoburn 2015
