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Hibiscus sabdariffa

Common name:	Roselle	Family:	Malvaceae
Author:	L.	Botanical references:	200, 266
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Tropics.
Habitat:	Disturbed ground[238].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	3

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	African Mallow [H], Afrika Bamyasi [E], Chai Kujarat [E], Hibiscus Tea Flower [H], Indian Sorrel [H], Jamaica Sorrel [H], Jamaica Tea Flower [H], Karkad‚ [H], Kerkedeh [E], Maravilla [E], Oseille De Guinee [E], Pink Lemonade Flower [H], Roselle [H,P,E,B], Vinagrillo [E],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Malvales. Mallow family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Dominican Republic Guatemala Haiti India Iraq Mexico Panama(Cuna) Sudan Turkey

Physical Characteristics

Annual/Perennial growing to 3m by 2m . It is hardy to zone 10 and is frost tender. It is in flower from August to October, and the seeds ripen from October to November. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 3/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Coffee Flowers Leaves Oil Pectin Root Seed.

The fresh calyx (the outer whorl of the flower) is eaten raw in salads, is cooked and used as a flavouring in cakes etc and is also used in making jellies, soups, sauces, pickles, puddings etc[74, 171, 183, 269]. The calyx is rich in citric acid and pectin and so is useful for making jams, jellies etc[240, 269]. It is also used to add a red colour and to flavour to herb teas[238, 269], and can be roasted and used as a coffee substitute[183].
A refreshing and very popular beverage can be made by boiling the calyx, sweetening it with sugar and adding ginger[183].
Tender young leaves and stems - raw or cooked[177, 269, 272]. Used in salads, as a potherb and as a seasoning in curries, they have an acid, rhubarb-like flavour[183, 238, 269].
Seed - roasted and ground into a powder then used in oily soups and sauces[177, 183].
The roasted seeds have been used as a coffee substitute that is said to have aphrodisiac properties[269].
Root - it is edible but very fibrousy[144]. Mucilaginous, without very much flavour[144].
The seed yields 20% oil[74]. (This is probably edible[K]).

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Antiscorbutic Astringent Diuretic Febrifuge Stomachic.

Roselle is an aromatic, astringent, cooling herb that is much used in the Tropics. It is said to have diuretic effects, to help lower fevers and is antiscorbutic[74, 238].
The leaves are antiscorbutic, emollient, diuretic, refrigerant, and sedative[269]. The leaves are very mucilaginous and are used as an emollient and as a soothing cough remedy. They are used externally as a poultice on abscesses[269].
The fruits are antiscorbutic[269].
The flowers contain gossypetin, anthocyanin, and the glycoside hibiscin[269]. These may have diuretic and choleretic effects, decreasing the viscosity of the blood, reducing blood pressure and stimulating intestinal peristalsis[269]. The leaves and flowers are used internally as a tonic tea for digestive and kidney functions[74, 238]. Experimentally, an infusion decreases the viscosity of the blood, reduces blood pressure and stimulates intestinal peristalsis[240].
The ripe calyces are diuretic and antiscorbutic[269]. The succulent calyx, boiled in water, is used as a drink in the treatment of bilious attacks[269].
The seeds are diuretic, laxative and tonic[269]. They are used in the treatment of debility[269].
The bitter root is aperitif and tonic[269].
The plant is also reported to be antiseptic, aphrodisiac, astringent, cholagogue, demulcent, digestive, purgative and resolvent[269]. It is used as a folk remedy in the treatment of abscesses, bilious conditions, cancer, cough, debility, dyspepsia, dysuria, fever, hangover, heart ailments, hypertension, neurosis, scurvy, and strangury[269].
One report says that the plant has been shown to be of value in the treatment of arteriosclerosis and as an intestinal antiseptic, though it does not say which part of the plant is used[269].
Simulated ingestion of the plant extract decreased the rate of absorption of alcohol, lessening the intensity of alcohol effects in chickens[269].

We have a more details factsheet on the history and medicinal use of this plant. Email webmaster@pfaf.org for details.

Other Uses

Dye Fibre Oil.

A strong fibre obtained from the stem (called rosella hemp) is used for various household purposes including making sackcloth, twine and cord[74, 171, 238, 272].
A yellow dye is obtained from the petals[240]. It is used in medicines etc[74].
The seed yields 20% oil[74].

Cultivation details

Prefers a well-drained humus rich fertile soil in full sun[200]. Roselle requires a permeable soil, a friable sandy loam with humus being preferable however, it will adapt to a variety of soils[269]. It is not shade tolerant and must be kept weed-free[269]. It will tolerate floods, heavy winds or stagnant water[269]. Roselle is reported to tolerate an annual precipitation of 64 to 429cm, an annual temperature in the range of 12.5 to 27.5° C and a pH of 4.5 to 8.0[269].
This species is not hardy in Britain, but it can be grown as a half-hardy annual, flowering in its first year from seed[200]. Plants are sensitive to the length of daylight and do not flower if there are more than 13 hours of light in the day[169].
Roselle is widely cultivated in the Tropical and Sub-tropical zones for its fibre and edible calyx, there are some named varieties[183]. Roselle is best suited to tropical climates with a well-distributed rainfall of 1500 - 2000 mm yearly, from sea-level to about 600 m altitude[269]. It tolerates a warmer and more humid climate than kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus), but is more susceptible to damage from frost and fog[269]. Plants exhibit marked photoperiodism, not flowering at shortening days of 13.5 hours, but flowering at 11 hours. In the United States plants do not flower until short days of late fall or early winter. Since flowering is not necessary for fibre production, long light days for 3 - 4 months is the critical factor[269].
There are two main forms of the plant:- var. sabdariffa has red or pale yellow inflated edible calyces but a poor quality fibre var. altissima is grown for its fibre but has inedible calyces[269].
Plants have a deep penetrating taproot[269].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a warm greenhouse. Germination is usually fairly rapid. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing them as annuals, plant them out into their permanent positions in early summer and protect them with a frame or cloche until they are growing away well. If hoping to grow them as perennials, then it is better to grow them on in the greenhouse for their first year and to plant them out in early summer of the following year.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Overwinter them in a warm greenhouse and plant out after the last expected frosts.

Cultivars

'': No entries have been made for this species as yet.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[PHARM] Phytochemical Data (common names, uses, countries) from Dr Duke's Phytochemical Database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HEC] Use, Folk Medicine, etc. from Handbook of Energy Crops by James Duke
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for the family Malvaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[74] Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968
An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers.

[144] Cribb. A. B. and J. W. Wild Food in Australia. Fontana 1976 ISBN 0-00-634436-4
A very good pocket guide.

[169] Buchanan. R. A Weavers Garden.
Covers all aspects of growing your own clothes, from fibre plants to dyes.

[171] Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952
Not very comprehensive, but it is quite readable and goes into some a bit of detail about the plants it does cover.

[177] Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984 ISBN 3874292169
An excellent book for the dedicated. A comprehensive listing of latin names with a brief list of edible parts.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[238] Bown. D. Encyclopaedia of Herbs and their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, London. 1995 ISBN 0-7513-020-31
A very well presented and informative book on herbs from around the globe. Plenty in it for both the casual reader and the serious student. Just one main quibble is the silly way of having two separate entries for each plant.

[240] Chopra. R. N., Nayar. S. L. and Chopra. I. C. Glossary of Indian Medicinal Plants (Including the Supplement). Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi. 1986
Very terse details of medicinal uses of plants with a wide range of references and details of research into the plants chemistry. Not for the casual reader.

[266] Flora of China 1994
On-line version of the Flora - an excellent resource giving basic info on habitat and some uses.

[269] Duke. J. Handbook of Energy Crops - 1983
Published only on the Internet, excellent information on a wide range of plants.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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