Perennial herb to 2 m or more tall. Leaves to about 20 cm long, ovate, entire to shallowly 3-5 lobed, densely white hairy below, margins toothed. Flowers solitary on long stalks that are often joined at the base to the leaf stalks; summer. Epicalyx of 10-14 narrow bracts. Petals mostly 8-11 cm long, white to deep pinkish red, usually deep red at the base.
E North America
A range of hybrids has been produced involving crosses between H. coccineus, H. militaris and H. moscheutos, known collectively as the Avalon Hybrids; 'Dixie Belle' is one of these. Further crossing has produced other cultivars including 'Southern Belle' which has giant blooms to about 30 cm wide.
Leaves felty, white-hairy below; flower stalks fused to base of leaf stalks. Grows naturally in swampy areas.
Source: (1997). Hibiscus. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.