Malvaviscus arboreus
(wax mallow)

Preferred Common Name

• wax mallow

Other Scientific Names

• Achania coccinea Salisb.
• Achania malvaviscus (L.) Sw.
• Achania mollis Aiton
• Hibiscus coccineus Walter
• Hibiscus malvaviscus L.
• Malvaviscus acapulcensis Kunth
• Malvaviscus arboreus var. arboreus
• Malvaviscus arboreus var. lobatus A. Robyns
• Malvaviscus arboreus var. mexicanus Schltdl.
• Malvaviscus balbisii DC.
• Malvaviscus mollis (Aiton) DC.

International Common Names

• English: Chinese hat; fire-dart; turk's cap
• Spanish: amapola; arito (Mexico); bombillo; capucha de monje; majagu¨illa; malvavisco; quesillo
• Chinese: xiao xuan ling hua

Local Common Names

• Bahamas: Sagra’s malvaviscus
• Belize: old man’s apple; tulipan; tulipan de monte
• Dominican Republic: bombillito; platanito
• Germany: Beerenmalve, Strauchförmige; Wachsmalve, Strauchförmige
• Guatemala: clavel encarnado; estrella de panama
• India: juba kusum; lanka jaba; mattu chemparati
• Jamaica: Mahoe rose; sugar bark
• Lesser Antilles: Hibiscus-piment; sleepy mallow
• Malaysia: bunga raya
• Mexico: mazapan; monacillo
• Nicaragua: flor de los santos
• Peru: cucarda caspi; pinon
• Puerto Rico: capucha de monje
• Saint Lucia: mazapan
• Thailand: chaba
• United States Virgin Islands: sleeping hibiscus

EPPO code

• MAIAR (Malvaviscus arboreus)

Spanish acronym

• amapolilla

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Dicotyledonae
•                     Order: Malvales
•                         Family: Malvaceae
•                             Genus: Malvaviscus
•                                 Species: Malvaviscus arboreus

Malvaceae is a large family of flowering plants containing about 243 genera and 4225 species of herbs, shrubs, and trees (Stevens, 2012). This family is largely tropical, but representatives can also occur in subtropical and temperate regions of the world (Stevens, 2012). The genus Malvaviscus includes about 11 species (the Plant List, 2013). Species within this genus are highly variable morphologically and this variation has led to widely differing opinions as to the number of species and subspecific taxa (Turner and Mendenhall, 1993; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014). 

The following description comes from Flora of China Editorial Committee (2014):

M. arboreus is a small shrub, up to 1 m tall. Branchlets sparsely villous to glabrate, rarely glabrous. Stipule filiform, approximately 4 mm, usually caducous; petiole 2-5 cm, puberulent; leaf blade broadly cordate to ovate-cordate, usually 3-lobed, sometimes entire, 6-12 × 2.5-10 cm, nearly glabrous or stellate pilose on both surfaces, basal veins 3 or 5, base broadly cuneate to nearly rounded or cordate, margin crenate, sometimes irregularly so, apex acuminate. Flowers solitary, axillary, pendulous, tube-shaped, slightly expanding only at top, 2.3-5 cm. Pedicel 3-15 mm, villous or puberulent. Epicalyx lobes spatulate, 8-15 mm, connate at base, hairy. Calyx campanulate, approximately 1 cm in diameter, lobes 5, slightly longer or shorter than bracteoles, hirsute. Petals 5, scarlet-red, 2.5 - 5 cm. Staminal column 5-7 cm, exceeding corolla tube. Style branches 10. Ripe fruit bright red, usually 3- or 4-seeded. 

The history of introduction of M. arboreus is uncertain. It is highly probable that this species has been moved from Mexico and Central America and intentionally introduced as an ornamental into new habitats (PIER, 2014; USDA-ARS, 2014). In the West Indies, it was first reported for Jamaica in 1864 (Grisebach, 1864) and later it appears in a herbarium collection made in Trinidad in 1917 (US National Herbarium). 

Soil drainage

• free

Soil reaction

• acid
• neutral

Soil texture

• light
• medium

M. arboreus spreads by seeds and vegetatively by layering and stem segments. Seeds and stem fragments are often dispersed in dumped garden waste, during floods or in soil movements (Webb, 1984; Webb et al., 1988; Henny et al., 1994; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2014; PIER, 2014).

M. arboreus has been widely cultivated as a garden ornamental. This species has repeatedly escaped from cultivation and become naturalized in natural habitats. Once established, M. arboreus grows forming dense thickets which have the potential to completely out-compete native vegetation principally in wet areas (Webb et al., 1988; Liogier, 1997; PIER, 2014). This species also represents a problem when it grows as an environmental weed along waterways, in riparian vegetation, and in coastal forests (Webb et al., 1988; Broome et al., 2007; Randall, 2012; PIER, 2014). 

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range
• Highly adaptable to different environments
• Is a habitat generalist
• Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
• Pioneering in disturbed areas
• Highly mobile locally
• Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
• Long lived
• Fast growing

• Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
• Modification of successional patterns
• Monoculture formation
• Reduced native biodiversity
• Threat to/ loss of native species

• Competition - monopolizing resources
• Competition - smothering
• Hybridization
• Rapid growth
• Rooting

• Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately

M. arboreus is often cultivated as a landscape and garden ornamental and as a potted plant for its colourful flowers. It is also grown as a medicinal herb. Leaves and flowers are used in traditional medicine in Central America and Haiti (Duke et al., 2009). A leaf decoction is used for the treatment of cystitis, diarrhoea, gastritis, and sore throat. Flower decoctions are used to treat bronchitis and fever (Lim, 2014; USDA-ARS, 2014).