Flower Friday 9 :: FF9 :: Plants that travel...

Hibiscus syriacus ‘Red Heart’ aka Rose of Sharon. The Koreans have used it in their gardens, tea and even eaten since forever. It was introduced to Europe in the early 16th century.

I planted this one in my front garden some years back but a recent spurt of growth by my Berberis dawinii suggests it’s not going to last long…

This is an issue with plants generally. Introducing new plants to areas where they don’t normally grow can have an effect on others, especially native plants. The UK is a little lax when it comes to this. Countries like New Zealand have very strict controls.

One species Hibiscus fragilis is an extremely rare endemic example in Mauritius that is now confined to just two mountain sides on the island. The introduced and now dominate Hibiscus rosa-sinensis has been blamed and is now being removed. Places like Kew Gardens are trying to grow it. 


Thanks to BikerBear, who is on her travels somewhere, for hosting Flower Friday. Maybe we’ll get to see some very rare and exotic local flora in the next week or so… ;o))