Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena' 25/2 Restock the leaves and sap are

the leaves and sap are mildly toxic if eaten and can irritate skin

handsome native shade tree that keeps its own unhurried calendar

the last two for the smooth gray bark that recalls a beech

this southwestern cousin stays small and semi-evergreen

The fragrant white spring blossom and the deep orange autumn fruit both earn a place

Hibiscus mutabilis 'Plena' 25/2 Restock the leaves and sap areThe name requires a brief clarification, and then we can move on to the more interesting parts. Hibiscus mutabilis has been called the Confederate rose since the nineteenth century, when the plant naturalized so thoroughly in the gardens of the American South that people assumed it belonged there. The plant does not. The species belongs to Hunan Province in China, where gardeners have grown the shrub for nearly three thousand years, where the flower