General info
· About 300 species are found worldwide. Its beauty makes it one of the most widely cultivated of flowers, in brilliant huers of red, orange, or purplishreds, with shortlived but continuin g blooms.
Botany
· An erect, muchbranched, glabrous shrub, 1 to 4 m high. · Leaves: glossy green, ovate, acuminat e, pointeed, coarselytoothed, 7 to 12 cm long, alternate, stipulate. · Flowers: solitary, axillary, very large. Outermost series of bracteoles 6, lanceolate, green, and 8 mm long or less. Calyx green, 2 cm long, lobes ovate. Petals commonly red, obovate, entire, rounded tip, and imbricate. Stamens forming a long staminal tube enclosing the entire style of the pistil and protruding out of the corolla. Ovary 5-celled, styles 5, fused below. · Fruits: capsules, loculicidally 5-valved, but rarely formed in cultivation
PARTS OF THE GUMAMELA FLOWER
Anthers
Anthers, the flower's male part, are connected to the top of the stamen and support pollen sacs. The gumamela has dozens of stamens whereas most flowers have only five.
Stamen Tube
The anthers are attached to filaments that join together and form the stamen tube, also known as the stamina column. This is unique to the gumamela.
Style
The style, or flower's ovary, is housed in the stamen column. The style branches out into five arms outside the stamina column. Each arm supports one of the gumamela's stigma.
Stigma
Male pollen grains are deposited onto the stigma. The stigma contains the flower's ovules that will start to turn into seeds after they are pollinated.
Petals
The gumamela's petals, also known as the corolla, have shallow lobes. The flower has only five petals. Gumamela breeders develop flowers with many "petals"---stamens that are bred to look like petals---to make a larger, fuller-looking flower.
Sepals
The sepals are modified leaves surrounding the gumamela's petals, serving to protect the flower, especially when it's still a bud.
Distribution
Ornamental cultivation throughout the whole country. Cuttings used for propagation.
Parts utilized
· Flowers, roots, and leaves. · Harvest the roots and leaves anytime of the year. · Wash, cut into slices, and sun-dry. The flowers should be collected from May to August, sun-dry.
Characteristics and Pharmacological Effects
· Considered emollient, emmenagogue, anodyne, expectorant, refrigerant. · Anti-infectious, anthelmintic, antiinflammatory, diuretic, antipyretic. • Hypotensive, antispasmodic. · Prepared drug has sweet taste, neutral natured. · The Hibiscus with five petals noted for its medicinal properties, the flowers are considerede astringent. The roots contain a mucilage that is soothing on the mucous membranes of the digestive and respiratory tracts.
Constituents
Hibiscotin. Flowers: Flavonoids and proanthocyanidins which are antioxidant, antipyretic, analgesic, spasmolytic. Polysaccharides which promote wound healing and are immunemodulating. (Link)
Uses
Folkloric · Mumps, infection of the urinary tract: use dried drug materials 15 to 30 gms, boil to decoction and drink. · For abscesses, carbuncles and boils: crush fresh leaves and poultice the infected area. Also, pound flower buds into a paste and apply to external swellings; also used for boils, cancerous swellings and mumps. · Decoction of roots, barks, leaves and flowers used as an emollient. · Decoction from roots of red and white-flowered plants used as an antidote for poison. · Bark is an emmenagogue; also used to normalize menstruation. · Seeds used as a stimulant and for cramps. · Decoction of leaves for fevers. · For headaches, an infusion of leaves or poultice of leaves. · Leaves are mildly laxative. · Mucilage during labor. · Red flowers are purgative; when taken with papaya seeds, may be abortive.
· Infusion of leaves as an expectorant in bronchitis. · Hair stimulant: oil made by mixing the juice of fresh petals and olive oil for stimulating hair growth. • In Costa Rica, used as a purgative. • In Venezuela, used to treat tumors. • In the Carribean, used as analgesic, anti-inflammatory. • In the Dominican Republic, used to treat hematomas. Culinary A tasty tea is brewed from its petals. Studies • Studies have demonstrated anti-bacterial, hypotensive, antispasmodic, and chemopreventive activities. It has shown glucose lowering in diabetic rats. Leaf extract has shown to promote hair growth. • Post-Coital Antifertility Activity of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis Linn. roots: The study explored the antifertility and estrogenic activity of root extracts of H. rosa-sinensis. A strong anti-implantation and uterotropic activity was observed. • Effects of Hibiscus rosa sinensis L (Malvaceae) on Wound Healing Activity: A Preclinical Study in a Sprague Dawley Rat: Study results on flower extracts suggest H. rosa-sinensis aids wound healing in the rat model. • Cardioprotective effect of the Hibiscus rosa sinensis flowers in an oxidative stress model of myocardial ischemic reperfusion injury in rat: The study concludes that the flower of Hibiscus rosa-sinensis augments endogenous antioxidant activity and prevented isoproterenol induced myocardial injury. • Presence of cholinergic and calcium channel blocking activities explains the traditional use of Hibiscus rosasinensis in constipation and diarrhoea: Study indicates the crude extract had spasmogenic and spasmolytic constituents to explain its traditional use in constipation and diarrhea. • Phytochemical and pharmacological investigation of flowers of hibiscus rosasinensis linn: Flowers extract studies isolated new compounds which showed hypotensive activity in combination use. Further pharmacological investigation is suggested.
Availability
Wild-crafted. Cultivated for ornamental use.