Abelmoschus crinitus Wall.

In Pakistan it is of rare occurrence and very few persons have reported from this area, such as Falconer (fide Masters 1874), Duthie (1899) and Deane (1907) from N.W.F.P. and R.R. Stewart (1972) from Panjar, Rawalpindi District.

This species is easily distinguished from other species by its long yellow hairs and many filiform epicalyx lobes.

Erect herb, 0.5-1.5 m tall; roots usually tuberous. Branches, petioles and pedicels simple and stellate hairy, usually hispid or hirsute. Leaves 10-15 cm long and broad, orbicular or broadly ovate, cordate at base, simple or stellate usually hirsute, angular or 5-7 lobed, coarsely serrate to dentate; stipules 1-2 cm long, linear to filiform; petiole 1-18 cm long. Flowers axillary, usually solitary; pedicel c. 2 cm long, in fruit up to 3 cm. Epicalyx segments 10-16, 2.5-5 cm long, 0.5-1 mm broad, linear. Calyx 2-2.5 cm long. Corolla 6-7 cm across, yellow with a purple spot in the centre; petals 6-8 cm long, 4 cm broad, obovid. Staminal column c. 2 cm long. Capsule 3.5-5 cm long, 2.5-3.5 cm across, ovoid to globular, simple and stellate pubescent, hirsute. Seeds 3-3.5 mm across, globular or reniform, black, rusty tomentose or glabrous.

Herbs perennial, 0.5-2 m tall, entire plant long yellow setose (hairs 5-6 mm) and minutely gray puberulent. Stipules filiform, 1.5-4 cm; petiole 4-12 cm; leaf blades on proximal part of stem orbicular, ca. 9 cm in diam., 5-lobed, those on mid stem cordate, those on distal part of stem sagittate, 4-15 cm, hirsute with long hairs on both surfaces, sparsely hispid or stellate hispid with long hairs on veins. Inflorescences terminal or axillary, a 3-9-flowered raceme. Pedicel 1-1.5(-2.5) cm. Epicalyx lobes 10-20, filiform, 10-35 × 1-2 mm, densely yellow, long hirsute. Calyx spathaceous, longer than epicalyx, simple-pubescent, also yellow setose toward apex, lobes linear. Corolla yellow, ca. 13 cm in diam.; petals 5-8 cm. Staminal column ca. 2 cm. Style branches 5; stigma flat. Capsule subglobose, 3-4 × ca. 3 cm, densely hirsute with yellow and long hairs. Seeds many, reniform, verrucose. Fl. May-Sep.

Himalaya, India, Burma, Indo-China, S. China, Malaysia.

Distribution: South Asia, China, Malesia (Java) and Philippines.

Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Yunnan [India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam].

150-1000 m

Grassy slopes; 300-1300 m.

Abelmoschus cancellatus Voigt; A. hainanensis S. Y. Hu; Hibiscus bodinieri H. Léveillé; H. cancellatus Roxburgh ex G. Don (1831), not Linnaeus (1775); H. cavaleriei H. Léveillé; H. crinitus (Wallich) G. Don.