This week for Flora and Fauna Friday, it’s a large riparian wildflower found in our ditches and riversides: Crimson-eyed Rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos).
Crimson-eyed Rosemallow is a large wetland perennial that grows in clumps a few feet around and over head-high. They’re most commonly found in freshwater marshes and roadside ditches bordering existing floodplains. Plants often clump together but don’t readily spread by their roots. Stems die back to the roots but return in late spring. Leaves are hand-sized and diamond-shaped with ragged edges. However, the real show stopper is the flowers. Crimson-eyed Rosemallow is best known for its giant, stunning flowers that can be as large as your spread hand. As a member of the Mallows, Crimson-eyed’s flowers are large and five-petalled with a bottlebrush-like projection of anthers at the center. The petals are a pure porcelain-white textured by longitudinal ribs that run down into a dark-crimson center. There are also varieties with rich pastel-pink petals but the white kind are what I primarily see in the Lowcountry. Flowering peaks between July and August and are frequented mainly by bees.
