Rock Hibiscus
(Paleface)
Hibiscus denudatus
Photographed in the Estrella Mountain Wilderness, Maricopa Co., Arizona. March 2009.
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FLOWERS: Delicate pale lavender to pink with column of distinctly red
stamens at the center. Petals and sepals number five. Blooming sporadically
throughout year depending on rainfall.
SHRUB: A spindly, slightly woody plant as tall as
1½ meters.
LEAVES: Elyptic to wedge-shaped leaves have rounded teeth and dense
stellate hairs. May be leafless after long drought periods.
RANGE: Usually growing on rocky slopes or high on wash banks below
1000 m elevation. Most likely to be encountered in the lower, warmer
mountains of the Sonoran Desert and near Tucson, Arizona.
FRUIT: Several to five or six radially arrayed carpels, with conspicuous
cottony fibers.
UNARMED.