Halberd-leaf Rosemallow
Muenchhusia laevis
Found in freshwater marshes, exposed riverbanks, sandbars. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
80
Keystone
Native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- About 8 feet
- Spread
- 2–3 feet
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil moisture
- Average to wet
Space about 2.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 16 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Perennial
- Bloom
- Mid summer
- Fruiting season
- Summer to fall
Not yet recorded · Leaves
Recorded in 12 Florida counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Streams, rivers and their banks
Flowing water and its banks, bars and rocky shoals.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
41CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including FL
Genus host records with ranges including FL · Hibiscus
- Acharia stimuleaSaddleback Caterpillar Moth
- Alabama argillaceaCotton Moth, Cotton Leafworm Moth, Cotton-Worm Moth
- Amyna strictaEight-Spot Moth
- Anomis erosaYellow Scallop Moth, Mallow Caterpillar
- Anomis flavaTropical Anomis Moth
- Anomis illitaOkra Leafworm Moth
- Anomis impastaGrey-Eyed Scalloped Moth
- Anticarsia gemmatalisVelvetbean Caterpillar Moth
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Burnsius albezensWhite Checkered-Skipper, Western Checkered Skipper
Show all 41
- Burnsius communisCommon Checkered-Skipper
- Burnsius oileusTropical Checkered-Skipper
- Chloridea virescensTobacco Budworm Moth
- Elasmopalpus lignosellaLesser Cornstalk Borer
- Euclea delphiniiSpiny Oak-Slug Moth
- Eudryas unioPearly Wood-Nymph
- Feltia subterraneaSubterranean Dart, Granulate Cutworm
- Halysidota cinctipesFlorida Tussock Moth
- Helicoverpa zeaCorn Earworm Moth
- Hypena scabraGreen Cloverworm Bomolocha, Black Snout
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Idia lubricalisGlossy Black Idia
- Megalopyge opercularisSouthern Flannel Moth, Puss Caterpillar
- Meskea dyspterariaWindow-Winged Moth
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Spodoptera dolichosSweetpotato Armyworm, Dolichos Armyworm, Large Cotton Armyworm
- Spodoptera eridaniaSouthern Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera frugiperdaFall Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera latifasciaOrange-Striped Armyworm, Velvet Armyworm Moth
- Spodoptera ornithogalliYellow-Striped Armyworm Moth, Cotton Cutworm
- Strymon istapaMallow Scrub-Hairstreak, Dotted Hairstreak; Modest Hairstreak, [Columella Hairstreak : former mis-applied name]
- Strymon melinusGray Hairstreak
- Synanthedon geliformisPecan Bark Borer Moth
- Tarache apricaExposed Bird-Dropping Moth
- Tarache delectaDelightful Bird-Dropping Moth
- Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformisEvergreen Bagworm Moth
- Urodus parvulaBumelia Webworm
- Chionodes hibiscella
- Epiblema numerosana
- Telamoptilia hibiscivora
26BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Hibiscus
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
1Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Hibiscus
- Ptilothrix bombiformis
1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hibiscus
- Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4–9
- Flower color
- Purple
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Summer
- Fruit ends
- Fall
Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Mid summer” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Purple” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Fall” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Moderate” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4–9” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
- Height · “About 8 feet” · USDA PLANTS (ranked first; Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder, Minnesota Wildflowers, Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differ) · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Life cycle · “Perennial” · Minnesota Wildflowers
- Light · “Full sun” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Soil · “Medium to wet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder (ranked first; Prairie Moon 2026 Cultural Guide differs)
- Spread · “2–3 feet” · Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder
Also known as
Halberd Leaf Rose Mallow; Halberd leaf Rosemallow; Hibiscus militaris; Muenchhusia laevis; Showy Hibiscus; Smooth Rose Mallow
Conservation status
| Florida rank | SNR |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| FL status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- Atlas of Florida Plants
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- FloraQuest: Florida (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications