Hibiscus aponeurus Sprague & Hutch.
Shrub or perennial herbaceous plant, up to 1 m in height. Stems somewhat scabrid, with stellate hairs, mainly adpressed, but often somewhat patent. Leaf blade 2-4 × 2-3 cm, from ovate to elliptical, with tendency to be trilobed, densely stellate-pubescent or stellate-pilose, with rounded or obtuse apex, serrated margin, base rounded to obtuse with 5 veins. Petiole 1-2 cm long. Stipules acicular, 5-9 mm long. Flowers 1.5-2 cm in diameter, red or pink, solitary, axillary; pedicel up to 3 cm long (often much shorter). Epicalyx with 8-13 parts, 3.5-8 mm long, linear-subulate. Calyx up to 9 mm long, hispid, lobes 5-8 × 1.5-3 mm, triangular to narrowly triangular-lanceolate. Petals 13-15 mm, narrowly obovate, with stellate hairs on the outside, glabrous inside. Staminal tube 7-10 mm; filaments free, 0.5-1 mm long. Style with branching 4-5 mm long. Capsule 8-12 × 8-12 mm, ellipsoidal to subglobose, pubescent. Seed silky white.
Flowering:
After rainfall, in autumn-winter towards the coast of the Red Sea.
Fruiting:
In winter, within the study area.
Habitat:
Shrubland, dry grassland, gallery forest with Euphorbia; savannah with spiny shrubs; dry Juniperus forest, mainly on the edges; secondary Juniperus thickets. From 250-2,400 m in altitude.
Distribution:
Tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, Australia. In Africa, it reaches towards the N to the coastal and subcoastal mountains of NE Sudan.
Conservation status:
Fairly rare species but widely distributed. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.