| (donherbisonevans@yahoo.com) & Ken Harris |
|
Rose of Sharon is a low shrub, extensively creeping over the ground, with a height of up to 40 cm. Leaves are in opposite pairs on a fleshy reddish stem. The leaves are green, ovate, sessile to 4 cm long. The flowers are solitary at the end of each stem, bright yellow with 5 spreading petals, each up to 4 cm, with numerous yellow stamens.
The plant was introduced from Turkey and Bulgaria as a garden plant, but has naturalized locally in Victoria east of Melbourne and in Tasmania.
The foliage is food for some Caterpillars, for example :
St. John's Wort Inchworm ( Aplocera plagiata, GEOMETRIDAE ) |
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| Flowers in Australia |
(updated 5 January 2010)