Hawaiian Hibiscus

Hawaiian hibiscus are the seven known species of hibiscus regarded as native to Hawaiʻi. The yellow hibiscus is Hawaii's state flower. Although tourists regularly associate the hibiscus flower with their experiences visiting the US state of Hawaiʻi, and the plant family Malvaceae includes a relatively large number of species that are native to the Hawaiian Islands, those flowers presented to or regularly observed by tourists are generally not the native hibiscus flowers. Most commonly grown as ornamental plants in the Islands are the Chinese hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) and its numerous hybrids.

The native plants in the genus Hibiscus in Hawaiʻi are thought to have derived from four independent colonization events: two for the five endemic species (four closely related species plus the yellow-flowered species) and one each for the two indigenous species.