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
To label the parts of a hibiscus flower, name nine numbers. Seven are on the whole flower, seen from the side. Two more, the ovary and the style, are on the same flower cut lengthwise.
Read the full guide
Hibiscus label parts, in alphabetical order
To copy onto the board: anther, epicalyx (bractlets), flower stalk (pedicel), ovary, petal, sepal (calyx), staminal column, stigma, style.
Anther or stigma, sepal or epicalyx
The anther (3) and the stigma (4) both sit on the long column (5) that stands out of the flower. The anthers are the many small beads along its outer half. The stigmas are the five round pads at its very tip. At the base of the petals (1), the sepals (2) form the cup with pointed teeth, and the epicalyx (6) is the ring of narrow fingers under that cup.
When marking, take calyx on line 2, stamen on line 3, bractlets on line 6 and pedicel on line 7.
For the outside only, set Start from to Whole flower: seven numbers and seven lines, with the ovary and the style left faint.
Questions and answers
What color is a hibiscus flower?
The common garden hibiscus is typically red, with orange-tipped red anthers and a green calyx. Its cultivars also bloom white, pink, orange, peach, yellow, blue or purple.
Does a hibiscus flower have male and female parts?
Yes, each flower has both. The male parts are the stamens, whose anthers line the column. The female part is the pistil: the ovary, the style and the five stigmas.
What family is the hibiscus in?
The mallow family, Malvaceae. Hibiscus is a genus of plants native to the tropics and subtropics, and its showy species are also called rose mallows.
What is the fruit of a hibiscus?
A dry capsule with five lobes and several seeds in each. It grows from the ovary and splits open when it is ripe, which lets the seeds out.