The difference between Hibiscus sabdariffa and Hibiscus tiliaceus

Different appearance

Leaves: The leaves of the first species are alternate, triangular in shape, and have small, irregular serrations on the edges. The leaves of the second species are rhombus or oval in shape, with a cuneate base.

Flowers: Perhaps the difference in leaves is hard to tell, so let’s look at their flowers. The flowers of the former are relatively small, with five petals; while the flowers of the latter are relatively larger, bell-shaped, and solitary. There are also some differences in their colors. The first type of plant has a relatively single color, generally only pink and pink. The other type of plant has richer colors, including pure white, pink, light purple, purple-red, etc.

Different nicknames

They both have different aliases. The first type is called Linglong Hibiscus, Mini Hibiscus, Jade Linglong, etc.; the second type of plant is called Kapok, Vitex, etc. (I personally think the alias of small hibiscus is better).

Different categories

The first is the genus Hibiscus, Hibiscus family, and the second is the genus Hibiscus, Hibiscus family. This may be the most fundamental difference between the two. After all, different species determine that they have different properties.

Different distribution areas

Let’s talk about their respective places of origin first. Although they are all native to the tropical or subtropical regions of the African continent, their distribution areas are different after they were introduced into our country. The first species is mainly distributed in Shandong Province, Zhejiang Province, and Anhui Province; while the second species is much more widely distributed, not only in the Northeast and Northwest, but also in almost every province and city, so they are not listed here one by one.