Malvaceae
Abelmoschus

Abelmoschus ficulneus (L.) Wight & Arn.

First published in R.Wight, Cat. Ind. Pl.: 14 (1833)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Eritrea to N. Mozambique, Madagascar, Pakistan to N. Australia. It is an annual or shrub and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Distribution

Native to:

Bangladesh, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Jawa, Kenya, Lesser Sunda Is., Madagascar, Mozambique, New Guinea, Pakistan, Queensland, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, West Himalaya, Zambia

Introduced into:

Chad, Guinea-Bissau, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan-South Sudan

Synonyms

Homotypic Synonyms

Heterotypic Synonyms

Classification

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Publications

POWO follows these authorities in accepting this name:

  • Abedin, S. (1979). Flora of West Pakistan 130: 1-107.
  • Brundu, G. & Camarda, I. (2013). The Flora of Chad: a checklist and brief analysis. PhytoKeys 23: 1-18.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Dash, S.S. & al. (eds.) (2025). Flora of Gujarat 1: 1-696. Botanical Survey of India.
  • Edwards, S., Tadesse, M. & Hedberg, I. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 2(2): 1-456. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Govaerts, R. (1995). World Checklist of Seed Plants 1(1, 2): 1-483, 529. MIM, Deurne.
  • Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.
  • Kress, W.J., DeFilipps, R.A., Farr, E. & Kyi, D.Y.Y. (2003). A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers of Myanmar. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 45: 1-590. Smithsonian Institution.
  • Kumar, S. (2012). Herbaceous flora of Jaunsar-Bawar (Uttarkhand), India: enumerations. Phytotaxonomy 12: 33-56.
  • Mao, A.A. & Dash, S.S. (2020). Flowering Plants of India an Annotated Checklist (Dicotyledons) 1: 1-970. Botanical Survey of India.
  • Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
  • Sikarwar, R.L.S. (2014). Angiosperm diversity assessment of Chitrakootthe legendary place of Vindhyan range, India. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany 38: 563-619.
  • Thulin, M. (ed.) in Thulin, M. (ed.) (1999). Flora of Somalia 2: 1-303. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Verdcourt, B. & Mwachala, G.M. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Malvaceae: 1-170.

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Brundu, G. & Camarda, I. (2013). The Flora of Chad: a checklist and brief analysis. PhytoKeys 23: 1-18.
  • Hutchinson, J., Dalziel, J.M. & Keay, R.W.J. (1954-1958). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 1: 1-828.
  • Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.
  • Kress, W.J., DeFilipps, R.A., Farr, E. & Kyi, D.Y.Y. (2003). A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers of Myanmar. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 45: 1-590. Smithsonian Institution.
  • Kumar, S. (2012). Herbaceous flora of Jaunsar-Bawar (Uttarkhand), India: enumerations. Phytotaxonomy 12: 33-56.
  • Pasha, M.K. & Uddin, S.B. (2013). Dictionary of plant names of Bangladesh, Vasc. Pl.: 1-434. Janokalyan Prokashani, Chittagong, Bangladesh.
  • Thulin, M. (ed.) in Thulin, M. (ed.) (1999). Flora of Somalia 2: 1-303. The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Verdcourt, B. & Mwachala, G.M. (2009). Flora of Tropical East Africa, Malvaceae: 1-170.

Kew Plants for Health

  • "UPWTA (Burkill, 2025)"
  • "World Checklist of Useful Pl. Spp. (Diazgranados et al., 2020)"
  • MPNS Import
  • US-FDA GSRS (2025)

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Blumea 14: 101 (1966)
  • Candollea 2: 86 (1924) & Fl. Madag. 129: 6, t. 1. figs. 5, 6 (1955)
  • Cat. Ind. Pl.: 14 (1833)
  • Fl. Eth. & Eritr. 2(2): 212, fig. 82.9.1–5 (1995)
  • Fl. W. Pak. 130: 26 (1979)
  • Op. Bot. 59: 35 (1980)
  • Rev. Fl. Ceylon 11: 309 (1997).
  • Wight & Arn., Prodr.: 53 (1834)

Other Data

Other Kew resources that provide information on this taxon:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
s.coll. [Cat. no. 2697] Hibiscus ficulneus K001116827 Unknown Type Material Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 2697] Hibiscus ficulneus K001116828 Unknown Type Material Yes
s.coll. [Cat. no. 2697] Hibiscus ficulneus K001116829 Unknown Type Material Yes

Sources

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images