Common Name: Tiny flower hibiscus. Tamil Name: Oorikai
Tiny flower hibiscus is a plant of African origin, often seen in India. It is common to see this plant in road-sides and fallow lands in Tamilnadu and can grow to a height of about one meter. The entire plant is pubescent. The simple leaves are arranged in an alternate manner; the leaf margin is slightly dentate; leaves often appear shallowly tri-lobed. The leaf stalk and leaf length measure around 3 mm and 3 cm respectively. The plant can flower even when it is very tiny. The leaves are ovate and shape and tip is acute. The plant has a long bend pedicel which measure around 3 cm. The flower is white in color with five petals and measure around 1.7 cm across. The epicalyx has 6 filamentous green elements. The calyx cup is about 5 mm long and has five sepal elements. The staminal tube is long and project out of the flower bearing yellow colored anther elements. The style is 5 segmented. The fruit is in the form of a round capsule. They break open to release the seeds which are cottony.
