# Guess the plant (non-orchid)



## Ernie (Jun 7, 2011)

Anyone have a guess what this leaf goes to? :evil: It grows great here!


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## JeanLux (Jun 7, 2011)

Looks like cannabis hey!!?! Jean


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jun 7, 2011)

Schefflera elegantissima (False Aralia). :wink:


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 7, 2011)

Hibiscus coccineus - actually it is grown in Japan too, but no body smokes it :rollhappy:


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## goods (Jun 7, 2011)

I agree Tom. It's native to areas in Louisiana.


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## rdlsreno (Jun 7, 2011)

KyushuCalanthe said:


> Hibiscus coccineus - actually it is grown in Japan too, but no body smokes it :rollhappy:



:rollhappy::rollhappy::rollhappy:LOL

Ramon


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## Ernie (Jun 7, 2011)

Oh man. That was too quick. Had at least one person going though!  Tom wins the prize- Hibiscus coccineus. It is also known as water hibiscus. I grow it in a bog behind our small pond- very wet, very bright, very fertilized. It is one of my favorite non-orchids in our landscape. It gets HUGE (dinner plate size), glossy crimson flowers that last only a day. Looks sorta like this...






By corydors at 2011-06-06

Last year, the plant was only about 4 feet tall. In fall, it died back to a couple woody sticks and came back strong in March with double the number of main "trunks". It is now over six feet tall. 

Got it at a local nursery (Lukas, Oviedo, FL). Several pond stores offer them online, although most say they only get 3 feet tall. Supposed to be hardy in zones 5-12. I highly recommend this plant!!! 

The bog is way overgrown with equisetum (horsetail rush), Colocasia Mojito, and Colocasia illustris to house any cp's though.


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## etex (Jun 7, 2011)

Yep,have one. It's also known as Texas Star Hibiscus


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## paphioboy (Jun 7, 2011)

Wow..!!! Your 'druggie' plant sure is pretty..  That's such a huge hibiscus bloom...


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## Hera (Jun 7, 2011)

Just because a leaf is palmate and cutleaf, doesn't mean its smokable.....some people oke:



:rollhappy::rollhappy::rollhappy:


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## Lanmark (Jun 7, 2011)

Nice! I had one of these growing on my bit of Florida swampland many, many, many moons ago. I loved it!


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## Rick (Jun 7, 2011)

That's a different leaf from most of the other (though limited) hybiscus species I've seen. Most are closer to Maple like, or even less palmate than this species.

Very cool.


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## NYEric (Jun 7, 2011)

Hera said:


> Just because a leaf is palmate and cutleaf, doesn't mean its smokable.....some people oke:


Actually, you can smoke any plant. Unfortunately many of them will kill you for your effort!


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## SlipperFan (Jun 7, 2011)

Aw c'mon, Ernie. Its just a camouflage!


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## Ernie (Jun 7, 2011)

SlipperFan said:


> Aw c'mon, Ernie. Its just a camouflage!



Darn. You got me.


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## W. Beetus (Jun 7, 2011)

Yep! I had one of those a few years ago.


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## Yoyo_Jo (Jun 7, 2011)

Oooo, the flower is really nice.


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## goods (Jun 8, 2011)

Ernie have you seen the alba variety? It's a pure white with lighter colored leaves and stem.It's just as stunning as this one. 

Actually I've heard stories about people who tried to smoke this particular species. A quick trip to the hospital along with a swollen, burning mouth... Let's just say I think they learned their lesson.


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## KyushuCalanthe (Jun 8, 2011)

goods said:


> Actually I've heard stories about people who tried to smoke this particular species. A quick trip to the hospital along with a swollen, burning mouth... Let's just say I think they learned their lesson.



I think the next line is, "and god wept..."

I doubt they learned their lesson. I remember back in '96 when I was walking the Appalachian Trail, there were 2 young pot heads who had run out of their most recent score (a tough thing to do in the backwoods of Maine if you don't have a car). I came upon them smoking something. As I approached one asked, "hey man, is this catnip, I think it's catnip. It tastes good." I recommended that after finishing that he should proceed to try various things just for the hell of it. "Go for it man, smoke the woods." Last time I saw him he was still alive.


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## Ernie (Jun 8, 2011)

I learned to use a smokes roller on dry roasted peanut halves of all things.  Worked pretty well. Not enough air got through and it just sorta smoked a lot. Maybe if they were crushed??? 

Anyway, GOTTA FIND AN ALBINO Water Hibiscus!! The gotta expand the bog!!! (or learn to prune them down w/o losing buds)


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## goods (Jun 9, 2011)

Ernie, we have at least one white one. I've tried to grow the seeds from it before, but they've all looked bad from the start. My dad told me the nursery owner told him she thought they were sterile. Not sure if it's true but so far, I believe her. I'll keep trying and if I get seedlings I could send you a few.


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## Ernie (Jun 9, 2011)

Hecks yes. Will swap you something for a white one. I've also heard the seeds are difficult/impossible to germinate. Maybe they need set on fire or scored with a file or partially digested by an ivory-billed woodpecker?


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## goods (Jun 11, 2011)

We've had no problem growing the red variety from seed. In fact, they pop up all over the yard, but all the white seed I've ever harvested has been all shriveled up coming out of the pod.


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## Ernie (Jun 16, 2011)

Found a "local" with a white water hibiscus. Since seeds don't seem to germinate, anyone every try rooting cuttings of these??? Any tips appreciated. 

BTW, this beast has six flowers open today!!! Most we ever got before in one day was two (maybe three?). Of course, they'll be withered by the time I get home from work. Will try to get my wife to snap some pix.


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## Leo Schordje (Jun 18, 2011)

Hey Ernie, 
Florida is the land of house plants run amuck. Stick a fragment of anything in the ground and it will grow to gargantuan proportions 

Hibiscus in general can be propagated by cuttings. The commercial guys do it all the time with the other hibiscus. I would suggest making the cuttings from semi-mature wood (a portion of a twig from this year, that has matured enough that a thin bark is starting to form, leaves are fully expanded and have hardened off. Your cutting should be 3 to 5 nodes long, discard the tender new shoot end of the twig. Remove all but 2 or 3 leaves, chop each large leaf back to leave an inch or 2 of fan of leaf surface to photosynthesize. This leaf chop lowers the demand for water to more in line with a rootless stem. Then stick the cuttings in a pot, water well, drop the pot into a plastic bag and seal it, set in shade and then wait. Should see roots within 6 weeks if temps are above 75 F at night and higher in day. Do this before day length drops to less than 12 hours, and you will have best chances of striking roots. Rooting hormones (as Ray B mentioned) are useful, but not mandatory. 

Low tech alternate: it is possible, though % of success will be lower, to just stick your cuttings in a glass of water on the windowsill, pot the cuttings that put out roots. Not a dificult genus to propagate. 

You should be over-run with them in no time


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## Lint (Jun 18, 2011)

Thank you for showing this wonderful plant! It's now at the top of my "must-have non-orchids" list. 

The flower is huge!


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