FIELD ID CHARACTERISTICS:
Large, showy, white flowers; fruit capsules persisting through winter.
Synonym(s): Hibiscus incanus, Hibiscus oculiroseus, Hibiscus opulifolius, Hibiscus palustris, Hibiscus pinetorum
Description: Tall perennial woody shrub to 2 m, with stems rising from base. Upper stems hairy. Deciduous.
Leaves: Alternate, pubescent leaves are oval or 3-lobed and toothed.
Flowers/Fruit: Large, showy creamy-white 5-petaled flowers with a crimson center, occasionally pinkish. Flowers about 20 cm wide. Fruit capsule splits into 5 parts and persists through winter. Blooms June to September; fruits July to October.
Habit and Range: Fresh to slightly brackish marshes throughout the state; most abundant in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
COMMON CONFUSIONS:
Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose mallow) is similar to Kosteletzkya virginica (saltmarsh mallow), but the K. virginica flower is smaller and pink, with a much longer pistil. Leaves of K. virginica are all lobed.
Click here to view Kosteletzkya virginica.
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