Thespesia populneaSol. ex Corrêa

Indian tulip treePacific rosewoodPortia treePortiatree

WFO wfo-0000455933 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Thespesia populnea, photographed by Dana Lee Ling
fig. a Dana Lee Ling, CC0 1.0 / 2022-05-28 / obs. 201168337
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. b Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199534734
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. c Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199542443
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. d Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199495961
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. e Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 199557457
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. f Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198941142
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. g Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 198941074
Thespesia populnea, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. h Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 197985932

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 63 botanical countries

Regions where Thespesia populnea is native: Aldabra, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rodrigues, Seychelles, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, China Southeast, Hainan, Nansei-shoto, Oman, Taiwan, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Bismarck Archipelago, Borneo, Cambodia, Cocos (Keeling) Is., India, Jawa, Laccadive Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Malaya, Maldives, Maluku, Myanmar, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Philippines, Solomon Is., South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Thailand, Vietnam, Queensland, Caroline Is., Fiji, Gilbert Is., Hawaii, Line Is., Marianas, Marquesas, Marshall Is., Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Pitcairn Is., Samoa, Society Is., Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Vanuatu, Wake I., Wallis-Futuna Is. DjiboutiEritreaKenyaMadagascarMozambiqueSudan-South SudanTanzaniaChina SoutheastHainanOmanTaiwanAssamBangladeshBismarck ArchipelagoBorneoCambodiaIndiaJawaLesser Sunda Is.MalayaMalukuMyanmarNew GuineaPhilippinesSolomon Is.Sri LankaSulawesiSumateraThailandVietnamQueenslandFijiHawaiiNew Caledonia AldabraComorosMauritiusRodriguesSeychellesNansei-shotoAndaman Is.Laccadive Is.MaldivesNicobar Is.South China SeaCaroline Is.Line Is.MarianasMarquesasMarshall Is.NauruNiuePitcairn Is.SamoaSociety Is.TongaTuamotuTubuai Is.VanuatuWake I.Wallis-Futuna Is.
Native distribution of Thespesia populnea, 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
Andaman Is. AND ASIA-TROPICAL
Assam ASS
Bangladesh BAN
Bismarck Archipelago BIS
Borneo BOR
Cambodia CBD
Cocos (Keeling) Is. CKI
India IND
Jawa JAW
Laccadive Is. LDV
Lesser Sunda Is. LSI
Malaya MLY
Maldives MDV
Maluku MOL
Myanmar MYA
New Guinea NWG
Nicobar Is. NCB
Philippines PHI
Solomon Is. SOL
South China Sea SCS
Sri Lanka SRL
Sulawesi SUL
Sumatera SUM
Thailand THA
Vietnam VIE
Caroline Is. CRL PACIFIC
Fiji FIJ
Gilbert Is. GIL
Hawaii HAW
Line Is. LIN
Marianas MRN
Marquesas MRQ
Marshall Is. MRS
Nauru NRU
New Caledonia NWC
Niue NUE
Pitcairn Is. PIT
Samoa SAM
Society Is. SCI
Tonga TON
Tuamotu TUA
Tubuai Is. TUB
Vanuatu VAN
Wake I. WAK
Wallis-Futuna Is. WAL
Aldabra ALD AFRICA
Comoros COM
Djibouti DJI
Eritrea ERI
Kenya KEN
Madagascar MDG
Mauritius MAU
Mozambique MOZ
Rodrigues ROD
Seychelles SEY
Sudan-South Sudan SUD
Tanzania TAN
China Southeast CHS ASIA-TEMPERATE
Hainan CHH
Nansei-shoto NNS
Oman OMA
Taiwan TAI
Queensland QLD AUSTRALASIA

Not drawn on the map: Cocos (Keeling) Is., Gilbert Is.. We hold no public-domain boundary for these regions, so they are listed rather than guessed at.

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 17 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.

  • Bupariti altissima (Spreng.) Rothm.
  • Bupariti populnea (L.) Rothm.
  • Hibiscus bacciferus G.Forst.
  • Hibiscus blumei Kuntze
  • Hibiscus litoreus J.Presl
  • Hibiscus macrophyllus (Blume) Oken
  • Hibiscus populifolius Salisb.
  • Hibiscus populneus L.
  • Malvaviscus populneus (L.) Gaertn.
  • Parita populnea (L.) Scop.
  • Parita populneus Scop.
  • Thespesia altissima Spreng.
  • Thespesia macrophylla Blume
  • Thespesia populnea var. bynoeana Domin
  • Thespesia populnea var. macrocarpa Pierre
  • Thespesia populnea var. rheedei Pierre
  • Thespesia populnea var. typica Domin

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. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. 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.