Like the bougainvilleas, hibiscus are commonly used as landscape ornaments. In fact, they are so common people hardly look at them and see the real beauty of these common flowers.
The hibiscus genus is a member of the Malvaceae family. There are many varieties of the hibiscus in Malaysia, but the five-petaled Hibiscus rosa sinensis was chosen above the others, as the most symbolically relevant. The word bunga in Malay means "flower", whilst raya in Malay means "big" or "grand". The hibiscus is literally known as the "big flower" in Malay. The red of the petals symbolizes the courage, life, and rapid growth of the Malaysian, and the five petals represent the five Rukun Negara of Malaysia (en.wikipedia.org)
Bunga raya or red hibiscus flower is found in abundance throughout the country, and for this very reason, was chosen to be the national flower (in 1960) by Malaysia’s first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Hibiscus flower preparations are used for hair care. The flowers themselves are edible and are used in salads in the Pacific Islands. The flowers are used to shine shoes in parts of India. It is also a pH indicator. China rose indicator turns acidic solutions to magenta/dark pink and basic solutions to green. It is also used for the worship of Devi and especially the red variety takes an important part in tantra. In Indonesia, these flowers are called "kembang sepatu", which literally means "shoe flower"(en.wikipedia.org).
Meanwhile, around the school area, there are plenty of hibiscus trees. Around the proximity of the academic blocks, I found at least 8 types.
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| Hibiscus rosa sinensis orange-pink-red (crested single petals) |
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| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis red (crested semi-double petals) |
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| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis pink & red (regular single petals) |
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| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis red (fringed petals) |
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| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis pink & red (regular single petals) |
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis yellow & red (fringed single petals)
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| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis orange (semi double petals) |
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| Hibiscus rosa-sinensis orange & pink (cartwheel overlap single petals) |
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis pink & red (fringed single petals)
I will upload more photos when I find other types of hibiscus not listed here. My referencing took me to this very informative (on hibiscus) website: http://www.hibiscusworld.com/BeersBook/Intro.htm#contents, or you can find the printed version "Growing Hibiscus" by Les Beers and Jim Howie. Thanks for reading.
Photos by Mahani
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