Hibiscus physaloides

Guill. & Perr.

MalvaceaeFruitLeavesFlowersPotential hazards — see below

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What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Fruit, Flowers, Vegetable

The flowers are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. The leaves and fruit are also edible.

Known Hazards

Where to Find It

A tropical plant. It is widespread in tropical Africa. It grows in savannah woodland, palm groves and on coastal sands. It grows in dry stony places.

Africa, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Central Africa, Comoro, Congo, East Africa, Eswatini, Gambia, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Southern Africa, Swaziland, West Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Countries: Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Benin, Botswana, Congo (DRC), Central African Republic, Congo (Republic), Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Algeria, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Comoros, Liberia, Lesotho, Libya, Morocco, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Somalia, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Eswatini, Chad, Togo, Tunisia, Tanzania, Uganda, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How to Identify

A small annual shrub. It has bristles. It grows 2 m tall. It has chalky secretions near on the lower side of the leaf at the base. The leaves are 20 cm long by 15 cm wide. It is almost round but with lobes at the end. There are teeth around the edge. The flowers are yellow with a red base. They are 9 cm across. The fruit is a capsule 15 mm long by 10 mm wide. The seeds are 2.5 mm long by 2 mm wide.

How to Grow

Propagation: Seed - sow in situ or in containers. Germination is usually fairly rapid and no special pretreatment is needed, although germination will be faster if the seed is abraded or soaked prior to sowing. Prick out container-grown seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions when they are 10cm or more tall.

Medicinal Uses

None mentioned.

Other Uses

A fibre is obtained from the bark.

Notes

There are about 220 Hibiscus species.

Names & Synonyms

Berekete, Dana-cutcha, Dzondzo, Farakutia, Farcacutcha, Nhacafi-manthoge, Nkwekwe, Nkwisa, Sasamwa, Thelele thengo, Torremimi, Wemphe

Abelmoschus ascendens Walp.Hibiscus adscendens G. DonHibiscus adscendens Walp.Hibiscus atroviolaceus Baill.Hibiscus hornei BakerHibiscus ribesifolius Guill. & Perr.Hibiscus variabilis Garcke

References (15)

Burkill, H. M., 1985, The useful plants of west tropical Africa, Vol. 4. Kew.
Flora Zambesiaca. http://apps.kew.org/efloras
Fowler, D. G., 2007, Zambian Plants: Their Vernacular Names and Uses. Kew. p 46
Fox, F. W. & Young, M. E. N., 1982, Food from the Veld. Delta Books. p 262
Grubben, G. J. H. and Denton, O. A. (eds), 2004, Plant Resources of Tropical Africa 2. Vegetables. PROTA, Wageningen, Netherlands. p 562
A. Guillemin et al., Fl. Seneg. tent. 1:52. 1831
Jardin, C., 1970, List of Foods Used In Africa, FAO Nutrition Information Document Series No 2. p 81
Kwapata, M. B. & Maliro, M. F., Indigenous vegetables in Malawi: Germplasm collecting and improvement of production practices. FAO
Long, C., 2005, Swaziland's Flora - siSwati names and Uses http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora/
Martin, F.W. & Ruberte, R.M., 1979, Edible Leaves of the Tropics. Antillian College Press, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. p 203
Peters, C. R., O'Brien, E. M., and Drummond, R.B., 1992, Edible Wild plants of Sub-saharan Africa. Kew. p 144
Swaziland's Flora Database http://www.sntc.org.sz/flora
Terra, G.J.A., 1973, Tropical Vegetables. Communication 54e Royal Tropical Institute, Amsterdam, p 50
Williamson, J., 2005, Useful Plants of Malawi. 3rd. Edition. Mdadzi Book Trust. p 132
World Checklist of Useful Plant Species 2020. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew