Cotton Tree, Beach Hibiscus

Where does Cotton Tree grow?

Found in: Africa, American Samoa, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Bhutan, Bougainville, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Cambodia, Cameroon, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, Central America, China, Christmas Island, Chuuk, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, East Africa, East Timor, Easter Island, Ecuador, Equatorial-Guinea, Eswatini, Fiji, French Polynesia, FSM, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, New Caledonia, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rotuma, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Tahiti, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tropical America, Tuvalu, United States, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wallis & Futuna, West Africa, Yap, Zimbabwe

Notes: There are about 300 Hibiscus species.

Status: It tends to be a famine food eaten when other foods are in short supply.

Growing Cotton Tree, Beach Hibiscus

Cultivation: Plants can be grown from seed or cuttings. Seed remain viable after floating in sea water for several months.

Edible Uses: Roots, flowers and young leaves can be eaten. They flowers can be dipped in batter and fried. The leaves are also fermented into a sauce. The bark, shoots and sap wood are recorded as eaten in New Caledonia. The slimy sap and bark are eaten. The stalks are sucked. The shoots are stripped of their bark and burnt then the ashes added to dished for flavour.

Production: It is a fast growing plant. Plants can be heavily pruned and will shoot again.

Nutrition Info

Cotton Tree, Beach Hibiscus Photos

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