Confederate Rose

Hibiscus mutabilis

Found in disturbed areas, persistent (at least) from horticultural use. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Florida. How scores work Is it native here?

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At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Light · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 Florida counties.

Habitats

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there. All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

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

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

1Specialist beesPollen specialists

Pollen specialists · Hibiscus

Ptilothrix bombiformis

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

1BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Hibiscus

Coccothraustes vespertinusEvening Grosbeak

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

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

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Malvaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Florida rank	Not available
Global rank	Not available
FL status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

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