Hibiscus tiliaceus L.

 
  • Family : MALVACEAE
    (Mallow Or Hibiscus Family)
  • Family (Hindi name) : GURHAL FAMILY (गुड़हल फैमिली)
  • Family (as per The APG System III) : Malvaceae
  • Synonym(s) : Hibiscus tiliaceus var. genuinus Hochr.; Hibiscus tiliifolius Salisb.; Parita tiliaceus (L.) Scop.; Pariti tiliaceum (L.) A.Juss.; Pariti tiliifolium Nakai; Talipariti tiliaceum (L.) Fryxell; Cistus tricuspis (Banks ex Cav.) Darwin; Abelmoschus guineensis Walp.; Hibiscus albovariegata W.Bull; Hibiscus boninensis Nakai; Hibiscus circinnatus Willd.; Hibiscus corrugatus J.W.Moore; Hibiscus elatus DC.; Hibiscus guineensis DC.; Hibiscus hastatus L.f.; Hibiscus porophyllus Vell.; Hibiscus tiliaceus f. albiflorus (O.Deg. & Greenwell) H.St.John; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. calyculosus Gagnep.; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. concolor Gagnep.; Hibiscus tiliaceus subsp. hastatus (L.f.) Borss.Waalk.; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. hastatus (L.f.) Hochr.; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. henryanus F.Br.; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. purpurascens Seem.; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. sterilis F.Br.; Hibiscus tiliaceus var. tortuosus (Roxb.) Mast.; Hibiscus tiliaceus f. variegatus Guillaumin; Hibiscus tortuosus Roxb.; Hibiscus tricuspis Banks ex Cav.; Kosteletzkya hastata Garcke; Pariti boninense (Nakai) Nakai; Pariti circinnatum (Willd.) G.Don; Pariti grande Britton; Pariti guineense G.Don; Pariti hastatum (L.f.) O.Deg. & Greenwell; Pariti purpurascens Seem.; Pariti tiliaceum var. abortivum Nadeaud; Pariti tiliaceum f. albiflorum O.Deg. & Greenwell; Pariti tiliaceum var. trilobatum Nadeaud; Pariti tortuosum (Roxb.) Voigt; Pariti tricuspe (Banks ex Cav.) G.Don; Talipariti hastatum (L.f.) Fryxell; Talipariti tiliaceum var. chihsinlinensis S.S.Ying; Talipariti tortuosum (Roxb.) Fryxell.
  • Species Name (as per The IPNI) : Hibiscus tiliaceus L.
  • Common name : Tree Mallow, Yellow Mallow Tree, Wild Thespesia, Mohoe, Sea hibiscus, Yellow mallow
  • Vernacular name :
    • Chalva (Hindi)
    • Bania, Halbali (Oria)
    • Kattuppoovarasu, Nirpatathi, Attuparuthi (Tamil)
    • Yetagogu (Telugu)
    • Aattuparuthi, Neerparuthi, Puzhapparuthi, Thalipparuthi, Velipparuthi (Malayalam)
  • Habit : Tree
  • Habitat : Plains, mainly coastal and river banks, Along streamside and mangrove forests
  • Comments / notes : The flowers towards evening, or when withering, turn brick-red. It yields a strong, white, useful fibre, used for making ropes and elephant gear for dragging timber.
  • Key identification features : Leaves ovate to orbicular, unlobed or rarely 3-lobed, apex acuminate or rounded, base cordate, margin entire to obscurely dentate, glabrous or sparsely stellate-pubescent above, glabrous or stellatetomentose below; petiole, sparsely to densely stellate-tomentose; stipules lanceolate to narrowly ovate, caducuous.
  • Flower, Fruit : Throughout the year
  • Distribution :
    • Kerala : All districts of Kerala
    • Maharashtra : Victoria garden, Mumbai-City district, Mumbai Suburban district
    • Odisha : Kendrapara district
    • Tamil Nadu : Tamil Nadu
    • Assam : Assam
    • Delhi : Delhi
    • Uttar Pradesh : Uttar Pradesh
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands : Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • Native : Aldabra, India, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Cabinda, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Provinces, China Southeast, Christmas I., Cocos (Keeling) Is., Congo, Cook Is., Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Gilbert Is., Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Hainan,
  • Exotic/Native : Native
  • World Distribution : Tropical & sub-tropical regions of the World
  • Conservation Status : Not Evaluated (NE)
  • Literature :
    • H.O. Saxena & M. Brahmam, 1994- Flora of Orissa Vol. 1
    • Matthew, K.M., Flora of Tamil Nadu Carnatic, Vol.3 (1). Diocesan Press, Madras. 1983
    • Henry, Kumari & Chithra (1983). Flora of Tamil Nadu, India vol. 1.
    • M.R. Almeida (1996). Flora of Maharashtra vol.1.
    • Parkinson, C.E. 1923. A Forest Flora of the Andaman Islands, Govt. of India, Shimla: 96
    • N.P. Singh & S. Karthikeyan 2000. Flora of Maharashtra vol 1.
    • Sasidharan, N. 2011. Flowering plants of Kerala. DVD, V2, KFRI
  • Read more :
  • Permalink : http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Hibiscus tiliaceus
  • Citation : Sankara Rao, K., Deepak Kumar (2025). India Flora Online. http://indiaflora-ces.iisc.ac.in/plants.php?name=Hibiscus tiliaceus. Downloaded on 4 November 2025.

Botanical Description

Herbarium Specimen(s)

Field Image(s)

India Distribution

World Distribution
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