hibiscus

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. Any of various chiefly tropical shrubs or trees of the genus Hibiscus, having large, showy, variously colored flowers with numerous stamens united into a tube surrounding the style.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A large genus of polypetalous dicotyledonous plants (herbs, shrubs, or trees), of the natural order Malvaceæ, and the type of tribe Hibisceœ. They are characterized by having a 5-cleft calyx, supplemented by 3 to 5 narrow bracts; by the long column of stamens, which is frequently anther-bearing for much of its length; and by the 5-valved loculicidal pod, with numerous seeds. About 150 species are known, mostly from tropical countries, but a few are natives of temperate regions. The species are remarkable for abounding in mucilage and for the tenacity of the fiber of their bark, whence several are employed for many economical purposes in their native countries. The petals of H. rosasinensis (a plant with large, handsome, usually red flowers, frequent in greenhouses) are astringent, and are used in China as a black dye for the hair and eyes. The handsome flowering shrub known in gardens as Althæa frutex, or rose of Sharon, is a species of Hibiscus (H. Syriacus). The root of H. Manihot yields a mucilage used as size and to give a proper consistence to paper. The leaves of H. cannabinus are edible, and an oil is extracted from its seeds; it is cultivated in India for its fiber, being known as Indian hemp. The plants of this genus are commonly known as rose-mallows. The great rose-mallow of the Carolina coast is H. coccineus. H. Moscheutos, of the United States, with rose-colored or white flowers 6 inches in diameter, is the swamp rose-mallow. H. Trionum, of Europe, with a sulphur-yellow corolla, is the bladder-ketmia or flower-of-an-hour. H. (formerly Abelmoschus) esculentus, of the West Indies and Central America, furnishes the okra or gumbo. H. Manihot is the Australian manioc. H. splendens, a native of Queensland and New South Wales, is the hollyhock-tree. H. Sabdariffa, of tropical Asia and Africa, yields the rosella-fiber. H. tiliaceus is the Tahitian poeron.
2. n. [lowercase] A plant of this genus.

Wiktionary

1. n. A flower of the genus Hibiscus, found in tropical to temperate regions
2. n. A cocktail made with champagne and cranberry juice.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Bot.) A genus of plants (herbs, shrubs, or trees), some species of which have large, showy flowers. Some species are cultivated in India for their fiber, which is used as a substitute for hemp. See althea, hollyhock, and manoe.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any plant of the genus Hibiscus