| The word “hibiscus” needs name recognition
The website www.wordcount.org lists 86,800 English words in order of usage based on 100,000,000 word samples taken from written and spoken English. Here are the first ten:
the, of, and, to, a, in, that, it, is, was
Our favorite word "hibiscus" is in position 42,441 on the list, coming after hippodrome and followed by summative.
What is a Hibiscus? What is a hibiscus?
According to www.webster-dictionary.org there are about 200 species of the genus Hibiscus, and H. rosa-sinensis, the Tropical Hibiscus or Rose of China, is the particular species we cultivate and loosely call “hibiscus” (actually “hibiscus” means any plant belonging to the genus Hibiscus). The genus Hibiscus belongs to the family Malvaceae, which belongs to the order Malvales, which belongs to the class Magnoliopsida, which belongs to the division Magnoliophyta of the plant kingdom. Now you know
National Tree of Jamaica– The Blue Mahoe (H. elatus)
The Blue Mahoe is the national tree of Jamaica. It is indigenous to the island and grows quite rapidly, often attaining 20m (66ft) or more in height. In wetter districts it will grow in a wide range of elevations, up to 1200m (4000 ft.) and is often used in reforestation.
The tree is quite attractive with its straight trunk, broad green leaves and hibiscus-like flowers. The attractive flower changes colour as it matures, going from bright yellow to orange red and finally to crimson.
The Blue Mahoe is so beautiful and durable that it is widely used for cabinet making and also for making decorative objects such as picture frames, bowls and carving.
Quoted from: http://www.jis.gov.jm/special_sections/Independence/symbols.html
Now That’s a Big Flower
If you think dinner plate-size hibiscus blooms are big, here’s a topper. According to the Guinness World Records listing, the largest flower is Rafflesia arnoldi. It grows in southeast Asia and blooms are up to 3 feet wide and weigh up to 24 lb. It’s bud resembles a large cabbage, it blooms at midnight, and stinks.
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