Field of Science

Friday Fabulous Flower - Flower of an hour

Well, Friday got away without a flower.  Here's one that TPP likes even if it is a weed because it does have a pretty flower, and large for the size of the plant too.  This isn't a common weed in our urban gardens, and it actually isn't difficult to control, but the city took out a soon to be dead white ash and brought in some city soil with what are more common agricultural weeds in the area, and it contained seeds of two members of the same family.  Here abouts this is called "flower of an hour" (Hibiscus trionum) because the flower doesn't last long.  The five red stigma lobes mark this as a hibiscus.  The rest of the flower is a classic mallow (family) famous for the spongy white roots of the marsh mallow.  The other weed is velvet leaf - Abutilon theophrastii that was probably imported to N. America for use as a fiber plant, a failure obviously.  Flower of an hour was also imported, perhaps with other agricultural seeds, perhaps as an ornamental.  The inflated and persistent calyx can be seen just above flower, and out of focus.  The bull's eye floral image is even stronger under UV light. 

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Thank you! I have been trying to find out what the flower/plant I've got growing outside.