PetalA hibiscus has five broad petals. At their very base they are joined to the staminal column.
Sepal (calyx)Five sepals joined into a cup, the calyx. It holds the base of the flower.
AntherMany small anthers stand on short threads. They line the outer half of the column. Each one makes pollen.
StigmaFive round pads at the very tip. One is on each branch of the style. Pollen has to land on them for seeds to form.
Staminal columnA hollow tube made of all the stamen stalks, joined into one. The style runs up inside it. Flowers of the mallow family are built this way.
Epicalyx (bractlets)A ring of narrow bractlets just under the calyx. It is like a second, outer calyx.
Flower stalk (pedicel)The stalk that carries one flower.
Cut lengthwise 2
OvaryAt the base of the flower, inside the calyx. It has five chambers of ovules and ripens into a dry seed capsule.
StyleA long thread from the ovary up through the hollow column. Beyond the end of the column it splits into five branches, each with a stigma.
How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30 against sources read that day; a name is kept only where two of them use it: (1) N. L. Britton and A. Brown, An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States and Canada, 2nd ed., vol. 2 (1913, public domain), Malvaceae and Hibiscus, https://archive.org/details/illustratedflora02brit; (2) Wikipedia, Hibiscus x rosa-sinensis, Hibiscus and Malvaceae (text only); (3) North Carolina State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/hibiscus-rosa-sinensis/; (4) Asa Gray, School and Field Book of Botany (1887 edition, public domain), https://archive.org/details/graysschoolfiel00gray. Hints and detail lines are in our own words. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced or copied. Licence: own work
How it works
This hibiscus flower diagram shows the flower from the side, with its long staminal column standing out of the middle. The second drawing is the same flower cut lengthwise, so the ovary and the style can be seen.
Read the full guide
Outside first, then inside
Numbers 1 to 4 are parts most flowers have: a petal, the sepals, an anther and a stigma. Numbers 5 and 6 are the hibiscus's own, the staminal column and the epicalyx. Number 7 is the flower stalk. Numbers 8 and 9 are on the cut flower: the ovary and the style.
In most flowers each stamen stands on its own. In a hibiscus their stalks are joined into one tube, the staminal column.
A hibiscus seems to have two rings of sepals. The outer ring of narrow fingers is the epicalyx.
Questions and answers
What is the long part in the middle of a hibiscus?
The staminal column. It is a tube made of the joined stalks of the stamens, with anthers along its outer half. The style runs up inside it and ends in five stigmas at the tip.
What are the parts of a hibiscus flower?
A flower stalk, an epicalyx of narrow bractlets, five sepals joined in a cup, five petals, a staminal column with many anthers, and a pistil: the ovary at the base, a long style and five stigmas.
Is a hibiscus a complete flower?
Yes. A complete flower has sepals, petals, stamens and a pistil, and a hibiscus has all four in each flower.
How many stigmas does a hibiscus have?
Five. The style splits into five short branches past the end of the column, and each branch ends in one round stigma.