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iNaturalist — CC, credited & licensed per image
Pictured: Hibiscus kokio — the species. This subspecies isn’t separately illustrated.
Malvaceae family

St. John's Rosemallow (subsp. saintjohnianus) Hibiscus kokio subsp. saintjohnianus subspecies

Native Specialist-bee host
Also known as: Hawaiian red hibiscus · St. John's hibiscus

St. John's Rosemallow (subsp. saintjohnianus) is a perennial tree native to Hawaii. A host for pollen-specialist native bees.

More about this plant

Hawaiian hibiscus are seven species of hibiscus native to Hawaii. The yellow hibiscus is Hawaii's state flower. Most commonly grown as ornamental plants in the Hawaiian Islands are the non-native Chinese hibiscus and its numerous hybrids, though the native Hibiscus arnottianus is occasionally planted. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Tree layer (canopy / understory) — Sits in the tree of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~20 caterpillar species

Hibiscus supports ~20 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is a moderate genus.

Recorded feeding on Hibiscus in North America, including:

Acontia delecta · owlet moth Anomis commoda · owlet moth Anomis erosa · Yellow Scallop Moth Anomis flava · Cotton Looper Automeris io · giant silk moth Bagisara brouana · owlet moth
+ 8 more species →
Bagisara rectifascia · Straight Lined Mallow Moth Chionodes hibiscella · twirler moth Crocidosema plebejana · leafroller moth Eudryas unio · Pearly Wood-Nymph Halysidota cinctipes · Florida Tussock Moth Helicoverpa zea · Corn Earworm Hyphantria cunea · tiger moth Loxostege albiceralis · snout moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
✦ Bees specialist-bee host

Specialist native bees depend on it.

Some native bees are pollen specialists (oligolectic) — they raise young only on pollen from particular plant genera. Hibiscus is a recorded specialist-bee host, so losing it can mean losing the bee that relies on it.

Xerces pollinator conservation →
Specialist hosts from Smith et al. 2024.
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[06] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[07] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts · Smith et al. 2024 (CC BY)
[08] Conservation rank — NatureServe Explorer (CC BY)
[09] Other common names — Wikidata (CC0)
[10] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[11] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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