フヨウは朝方に咲いて夕方にしぼむ儚い１日花。女性的な花色、柔らかい花容から、花言葉は「美人」「繊細な美」「しとやかな恋人」です。
Cotton rosemallow is a fleeting one-day flower that blooms in the morning and deflate in the evening. From the feminine flower color and soft flower volume, the flower language is “beautiful woman”, “delicate beauty”, and “graceful lover”.
【仮名】フヨウ, モクフヨウ
【和名】芙蓉, 木芙蓉
【英名】Cotton Rosemallow
【学名】Hibiscus mutabilis
【誕生】08/ 02, 11/ 10
【開花】07, 08, 09, 10月
【花色】White, Pink
フヨウ
フヨウの自生と栽培
フヨウはアオイ科フヨウ属の落葉低木です。自生地は中国から台湾、日本まで。国内では沖縄・九州・四国で自生しています。さらに関東以南では観賞用にも栽培。水生植物のハスの別名が同じ芙蓉であるため、フヨウと区別するときは、ハスが「水芙蓉」、フヨウが「木芙蓉」です。
フヨウの花と果実
フヨウの花は朝方に咲いて夕方にしぼむ１日花。それでも新しい花が毎日、次々と咲いていくので長期間、開花が続きます。花はお椀状で花弁が５枚、雄しべは長く放射状に広がり、雌しべも先端が５つに分岐。果実は毛に覆われた蒴果で、熟すと縦に割れて多くの種子を散らします。
フヨウとムクゲの違い
同じフヨウ属のムクゲはフヨウと接ぎ木できるくらい近縁で、姿形がそっくり。しかし、いくらか見た目に違いがあります。樹形はフヨウが横に広がるのに対し、ムクゲは縦に伸長。フヨウよりも葉が小さく、１カ月ほど早く開花し、雄しべが短く、雌しべも先端が分岐していません。
フヨウの個性的な系統
フヨウにはいろいろな系統があります。中でも「酔芙蓉」の花は朝の咲き始めが白く、時間がたつにつれて赤く変色。酒に酔っているように見えることから、この名前がつけられました。また、「草芙蓉」は米国が原産地で、花の大きさが直径30cmくらい。別名アメリカフヨウです。
フヨウの花言葉
花色に富む近縁のタチアオイやムクゲと違い、フヨウの花は桃色と白色だけ。柔らかく女性的な花容とも相俟って花言葉は「美人」です。また、種名はラテン語で「変化しやすい」という意味。儚い一日花であることから「繊細な美」と「しとやかな恋人」という花言葉もあります。
Cotton Rosemallow
Cotton rosemallow native and cultivated
Cotton rosemallow is a deciduous shrub of the genus Confederate rose in the Malvaceae family. Hometown is from China to Taiwan and Japan. In Japan, it grows naturally in Okinawa, Kyushu, and Shikoku. It is also cultivated for ornamental purposes south of Kanto. Since the aquatic plant Hasu are also known as Fuyo, when distinguishing them from Fuyo, Hasu is “Mizufuyo” and Fuyo is “Mokufuyo”.
Cotton rosemallow flowers and fruits
Cotton rosemallow flower is a one-day flower that blooms in the morning and deflate in the evening. Even so, new flowers bloom one after another every day, so they continue to bloom for a long time. The flowers are bowl-shaped with 5 petals, the stamens are long and radial, and the pistils are branched into 5 tips. The fruit is a hair-covered capsule that, when ripe, splits vertically and scatters many seeds.
Difference between Fuyo and Mukuge
Mukuge of the same genus Confederate rose is so closely related that it can be grafted with Cotton rosemallow, and looks exactly like it. However, there are some visual differences. As for the tree shape, Cotton rosemallow spreads horizontally, while Mukuge grows vertically. The leaves are smaller than Cotton rosemallow, flowering about a month earlier, the stamens are short, and the tips of the pistils are not branched.
Fuyo’s unique lineage
There are various strains of Fuyo. Among them, the flowers of “Suifuyo” are white at the beginning of blooming in the morning and turn red over time. The name comes from the fact that it looks like you’re drunk. The origin of “Swamp rose mallow” is in the United States, and the size of the flower is about 30 cm in diameter. Another name is Swamp rose mallow.
Cotton rosemallow flower language
Unlike the closely related hollyhocks and common hibiscus, which are rich in flower color, the flowers of Cotton rosemallow are only pink and white. Coupled with the soft and feminine flower, the flower language is “beautiful woman”. Also, the species name is Latin and means “variable”. Since it is a fragile one-day flower, there are also flower words such as “delicate beauty” and “graceful lover”.
