The name of this species has recently (2001) been changed from Hibiscus tiliaceus, though this is not universally recognised as yet(2009)[].

Common Name: Beach Hibiscus

General Information

Beach hibiscus is an evergreen shrub or small tree with low, spreading branches, growing 3 - 10 metres tall.
A true multi-purpose tree, it is considered to be one of the most useful trees in the Pacific region. It is commonly gathered from the wild for food, medicine, fibre and timber, is sometimes cultivated and often protected when other trees are cleared from an area[, ]. The tree is often cultivated as an ornamental plant and hedge in tropical areas[].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Pantropical.

Habitat

Found throughout the tropics, often on beaches, saline swamps and disturbed places[, ]. Sometimes forms nearly impenetrable thickets, especially along the sides of streams[].

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Evergreen Tree
Height	10.00 m
Growth Rate	Fast
Pollinators	Insects, Birds
Cultivation Status	Cultivated, Ornamental, Semi-cultivated, Wild

Cultivation Details

Beach hibiscus is a tropical plant that is usually found in coastal and low elevation habitats, but can be found at elevations up to 800 metres[]. It prefers a mean annual rainfall of 900 to 2,500mm with a mean maximum temperature 24 - 41°c and a mean minimum temperature of 5 - 24°c[].
Prefers a moist but well-drained, humus-rich, fertile soil in a sunny position[, , ]. Succeeds in poor soils[]. The plant is ideally suited to coastal locations and is highly tolerant of salt wind and salty soils[, , ]. Established plants are drought tolerant[].
The plant coppices readily and, when cut back, produces many long, vigorous shoots with a high fibre production[].
Plants can flower and fruit all year round unless there is a dry season[].
A shallow-rooted species, it is prone to being wind-blown when grown in a windy position, the branches quickly producing new roots from which develop new plants. In this way the plant can form dense thickets over large areas, especially where the trees are growing in soft mud[, ]. This habit of regeneration can be common especially after cyclones[].

Edible Uses

Flowers - raw or cooked. They can be cooked as a potherb[]. The flowers are produced all year round[].

Leaves[]. They can be fermented into a sauce, used as a substrate for the tempeh starter culture, or boiled in salted water to make the beverage known as Onge tea[]. The young leaves are eaten in times of famine[].

The green bark is eaten in times of famine[].

Medicinal

The flowers and the sap of the plant are widely utilized in a variety of medicines[]. The flowers are laxative[].
An infusion of the leaves is used to aid in the delivery of a child[]. Postpartum discharges are treated with an infusion of the leaves[]. The leaves are used in treating coughs and sore throats[]. They are made into a paste and used as a poultice for sores, cuts, open wounds, boils and swellings[].

The bark and leaves of H. tiliaceus are used medicinally, especially to relieve coughs, sore throats and tuberculosis[]. In Tonga, the bark and the young leaves are used to treat skin diseases[].
The bark, on its own, is used in treating eye infections and injuries, and stomach-aches[]. An infusion of the bark is taken three times if the placenta is retained after the birth of the child[]. The fluid from the bark is used to promote menstruation[].
The Cook Island Maoris use the bark, together with coconut bark or husk, to make an infusion used for bathing fractures[].

In Fiji, the leaves are wrapped around fractured bones and sprained muscles[]. Juice from the leaves is used in treating gonorrhoea[].
Acetone extracts from the leaves of H. tiliaceus showed antibacterial activity[].

A treatment made from the leaves, roots and bark is given for fever[].

Agroforestry Uses:

Although its natural habit is a tree, the plant is amenable to pruning and can be grown as a hedge[, ]. It is commonly planted as living fencing, whilst a creeping variety is planted as a wind-break in Hawaii[].
It has also been used to reforest eroded land, contain beach erosion, coastal rehabilitation, as a shade tree and a wind-break, especially along the seashore[, ].

Other Uses

The bark fibres can be used for cordage[]. It is used to manufacture a good quality rope which is can be used for caulking boats and is also used for plaiting mats[].
The green bark peels off easily in wide strips[]. It is used for making a fine fibre and is also beaten out to make traditional tapa bark cloth[]. Tapa cloth is produced by beating strips of bark on a flat surface with a wooden mallet. A very fine cloth can be made in this way, the more the bark is beaten the finer the cloth becomes. Larger sizes can be made by overlapping 2 pieces of bark and beating them together[].
The fibre from the bark has a wide range of other applications, including being used as canoe caulking; to make cordage for clothing and dancing skirts and kilts; coconut-climbing bandages or foot harnesses; mats; sandals; sewing tape; paint brushes; slings; kava strainers[].

The wood, when dried for six months, is used for fireworks[].

The heartwood is a dark greenish brown; the sapwood whitish. The wood is light in weight, moderately soft and porous. The wood is useful for light construction, net floats and corks[, ]. An important wood for the Polynesians, who use it for a wide range of purposes, including the outriggers of canoes, carving, house rafters, pig-tethering posts, spreaders, bailers, booms and occasionally hulls, fishing rods, hoists and floats, fishnet frames and handles, bows, fruit-picking rods, tools etc[, ].
The wood is used for fuel[]. It makes a decent firewood, especially for slow smoking, and is used in making fire by friction[].
Paper manufactured from H. Tiliaceus pulp is of low quality as the fibres are short (0.7-1.3 mm) and is only suitable for wrapping paper[].

Propagation

Seed - sow in situ or in containers. Germination is usually quite rapid. Prick out container-grown seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out into their permanent positions when they are 10cm or more tall.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood in a frame.
Large limbs can be planted as living posts and usually root easily[].

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