page_title: Hibiscus syriacus
section_title: History and culture
hierarchical_section_title: Hibiscus syriacus / History and culture
caption_attribution_description: English: It came to Japan at the latest in the 8th century (it is thought that it is about 800 years earlier than when it was introduced to the Korean Peninsula), and it has been cultivated for a long time (also described in Manyoshu) .. Even today, it is still popular as it is planted as a garden tree for ordinary Japanese households.
context_page_description: Hibiscus syriacus is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is native to south-central and southeast China, but widely introduced elsewhere, including much of Asia. It was given the epithet syriacus because it had been collected from gardens in Syria. Common names include the Korean rose, rose of Sharon, Syrian ketmia, shrub althea, rose mallow. It is the national flower of South Korea and is mentioned in the South Korean national anthem. It came to Japan at the latest in the 8th century, and it has been cultivated for a long time.
context_section_description: Hibiscus syriacus has been grown as a garden shrub in Korea since time immemorial; its leaves were brewed into an herbal tea and its flowers eaten. Later on it was introduced and grown in the gardens of Europe as early as the 16th century, though as late as 1629 John Parkinson thought it was tender and took great precautions with it, thinking it "would not suffer to be uncovered in the Winter time, or yet abroad in the Garden, but kept in a large pot or tubbe in the house or in a warme cellar, if you would have them to thrive." (sic) By the end of the 17th century, some knew it to be hardy: Gibson, describing Lord Arlington's London house noted six large earthen pots coddling the "tree hollyhock", as he called it, "that grows well enough in the ground". By the 18th century the shrub was common in English gardens and in the North American colonies, known as Althea frutex and "Syrian ketmia".
caption: From the 8th century to today, This tree is popular as a garden tree for ordinary Japanese households.
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