Hibiscus trionum was introduced to the US from Southern Europe where it gained a foothold as a weed and as a garden plant, it is listed as a noxious weed by the USDA. One common name for this plant is 'Flower-of-an-hour because of the short-lived blooms.
This plant appeared in my garden last year but I'm not sure where it came from as I don't remember seeing it previously. People would comment on a flower they saw growing in my garden and inquire about it's name but I couldn't figure out what flower they were referring to. Then one day I got up and checked on the garden earlier than usual and was surprised to find dozens of these whitish yellow blooms. The blooms are beautiful and the purple centers really make them stand out.
By 11 that same morning the blooms had all withered and died. I soon realized what the flower was that people kept asking me about that I couldn't ID. It has a very appropriate common name.
I must have missed some seed heads last year because some over-wintered in the ground and have sprung and flowered this year. It is too bad that this plant can be a problem in the wild because I really like the blooms and I am really fond of the translucent seed pod. This year I'll be more careful and make sure I get all of the seed heads before the seeds mature and drop to the ground.
Awww... it's too bad about the negatives of that plant, because the bloom sure is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you posted this! All last summer, my mom kept going on about some flower that "only blooms early in the morning", and looks like "kleenex caught in the bushes". It was growing in an empty lot near her workplace, but she has no camera, so we frustrated each other trying to figure it out-it was THIS!
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