Sabdariffa surattensis(L.) M.M.Hanes & R.L.Barrett

comfortroot

WFO wfo-1000082981 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Nick Schaller
fig. a Nick Schaller, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-05-02 / obs. 193740735
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Aravinth
fig. b Aravinth, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 190599409
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Paulmathi Vinod
fig. c Paulmathi Vinod, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 153312185
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Brendan Smith
fig. d Brendan Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 124499797
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Mahomed Desai
fig. e Mahomed Desai, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 125187854
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Pieter Huybrechts
fig. f Pieter Huybrechts, CC0 1.0 / obs. 52230593
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Nolan Exe
fig. g Nolan Exe, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 37811198
Sabdariffa surattensis, photographed by Ronald Flipphi
fig. h Ronald Flipphi, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 31145290

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 46 botanical countries

Regions where Sabdariffa surattensis is native: Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gulf of Guinea Is., Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Northern Provinces, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, China South-Central, China Southeast, Hainan, Assam, Bangladesh, Borneo, Cambodia, East Himalaya, India, Laos, Malaya, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam AngolaBeninBurundiCameroonCentral African RepublicCongoDR CongoEthiopiaGabonGambiaGhanaGuineaGuinea-BissauGulf of Guinea Is.Ivory CoastKenyaLiberiaMalawiMozambiqueNigeriaNorthern ProvincesSenegalSierra LeoneSudan-South SudanTanzaniaTogoUgandaZambiaZimbabweChina South-CentralChina SoutheastHainanAssamBangladeshBorneoCambodiaEast HimalayaIndiaLaosMalayaMyanmarPhilippinesSri LankaThailandVietnam Cape Verde
Native distribution of Sabdariffa surattensis, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Angola ANG AFRICA
Benin BEN
Burundi BUR
Cameroon CMN
Cape Verde CVI
Central African Republic CAF
Congo CON
DR Congo ZAI
Ethiopia ETH
Gabon GAB
Gambia GAM
Ghana GHA
Guinea GUI
Guinea-Bissau GNB
Gulf of Guinea Is. GGI
Ivory Coast IVO
Kenya KEN
Liberia LBR
Malawi MLW
Mozambique MOZ
Nigeria NGA
Northern Provinces TVL
Senegal SEN
Sierra Leone SIE
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
Togo TOG
Uganda UGA
Zambia ZAM
Zimbabwe ZIM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Laos LAO
Malaya MLY
Myanmar MYA
Philippines PHI
Sri Lanka SRL
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
China South-Central CHC ASIA-TEMPERATE
China Southeast CHS
Hainan CHH

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 10 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Abelmoschus aculeatus (G.Don) Walp.
  • Furcaria surattensis Kostel.
  • Hibiscus aculeatus G.Don
  • Hibiscus appendiculatus Stokes
  • Hibiscus hypoglossus Harv. & Sond.
  • Hibiscus involucratus Salisb.
  • Hibiscus surattensis L.
  • Hibiscus surattensis var. genuinus Hochr.
  • Hibiscus surattensis var. villosus Hochr.
  • Hibiscus trinitarius Noronha

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. USDA PLANTS Database. common name, checklist symbol HIAC. public domain. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.