Dwarf Red Hibiscus

rhodanthus: red-flowered

Perennial herb, often only a few cm high, growing from a woody rootstock. Stems covered in stellate hairs. Leaves oblong or oblong-elliptic, stellate hairy; margins with spaced teeth. Flowers solitary, axillary, bright red, 2.5-4 cm in diameter, often appearing as terminal panicles by reduction of the upper leaves. Epicalyx of 6-7 bracts, 1-4 mm long, linear. Calyx up to 8 mm. Fruit a subspherical capsule, usually densely pubescent. Seeds with a white silky floss.

From DRC and Tanzania, South to Zimbabwe and Mozambique.