A wonderful collection of colourful hibiscus drawings and botanical illustrations. They are all in the Public Domain and free to print. The latest addition to the large collection of vintage flower illustrations on the site.
Showy hibiscus flowers come in many colours. From white to pink, red blue orange, yellow or purple.
Over 220 different varieties of hibiscus flowers have been identified. The trumpet-shaped flowers range from 4-18cm and have a minimum of five petals.
Interesting Tidbits About Hibiscus Flowers
- The hibiscus is a nyctinastic plant. This means that it closes its leaflets at night to protect the plant against cold and then opens them again in daylight.
- As well as being a popular ornamental and cultural plant, the hibiscus has an important ecological role too. Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds are attracted to hibiscus flowers.
- The dried flowers make a popular red coloured tea, high in vitamin C.
- Hibiscus tea has many health benefits, from treating high blood pressure, high cholesterol, anxiety, digestive and inflammatory problems.
- Hibiscus cannabinus is a variety used to make paper.
- The national flower of Hawaii is the yellow hibiscus. South Korea, Malaysia and the Solomon Islands also have hibiscus as their national flower.
- Polynesian women used to wear a hibiscus flower in their hair. A flower behind the left ear meant she was in a relationship. If the flower was worn the right, that meant she was single.
- In Sri Lanka, the hibiscus plant is called the “shoe plant“. Probably because the flowers bring back the shine of the natural leather when rubbed on shoes.
The Hibiscus Drawings and Illustrations
To download a specific hibiscus drawing, click on the title above the drawing. A higher-resolution image will open in a new window on your browser. Then, right-click on the picture with your mouse, and you can save or print the flower illustration.
If you want to have a go at drawing your own hibiscus flower check out my hibiscus how to draw post.
1. Hibiscus Cameroni-fulgens
A hibiscus botanical illustration is from the 1844 edition of Edwards’ botanical register, or, Ornamental flower garden and shrubbery.
The accompanying text is as follows: A specimen of this fine plant was sent us in August 1843, by Messrs. Rollissons, of Tooting, who state that it is a hybrid, between Hibiscus Cameroni and H. fulgens. H. Cameroni is a Madagascar shrub, with heart-shaped 5-lobed leaves, buff flowers, with five deep crimson spots in the eye, and a very small involucre; H. fulgens is a garden name for a varietv of H. Rosa Sinensis.The produce of these two is the very handsome variety now figured, which, as might have been anticipated, proves worthy of so beautiful a parentage.
2. Swamp Rose Mallow
This hibiscus print is from an 1806 edition of Curtis’s botanical magazine.
This hibiscus is found in wetlands of the eastern United States from Texas to the Atlantic states, up to southern Ontario.
3. Chinese Rose
This is the hibiscus roseus more commonly known as the Chinese rose. It’s a tropical plant, widely grown as an ornamental flower in the tropics and subtropics.
The flower print is from the 1896 book, Favourite flowers of garden and greenhouse /by Edward Step.
4. Tropical Hibiscus
A drawing of a flower commonly known as a tropical hibiscus. The showy flowers attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.
5. Hibiscus_phoeniceus
Flower illustration from, Botanical Register; Consisting of Coloured Figures of Exotic Plants Cultivated in British Gardens; with their History and Mode of Treatment by Ker Gawler 1817.
The flower is more commonly known as the Brazilian Rosemallow and is found from Central to South America.
6. Hibiscus waimeae
Hibiscus waimeae is endemic to the island of Kauaʻi in Hawaii.
Another hibiscus drawing from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine (1914).
7. Blue-winged Yellow Swamp-Warbler & Cotton Rose
This delightful drawing of a male and female swamp-warbler and a cotton rose (Hibiscus grandiflorus), is by J.J. Audubon.
J.J. Audubon (1785-1851) is an American artist and naturalist whose most famous book is The Birds of America (1827–1839). This is considered to be one of the finest ornithological works ever completed.
More of his beautiful paintings can be found with this collection of American songbirds.
8. Hibiscus Radiatus
A large purple flower native is to Southern and Southeast Asia, more commonly known as Monarch rosemallow.
9. Hibiscus macrophyllus
More commonly known as the largeleaf rosemallow. It can be found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.
10. Yellow Hawaiian hibiscus
The yellow Hawaiian hibiscus is the state flower of Hawaii. The flower illustration is from the Indigenous Flowers of the Hawaiian Islands by Mrs Frances Sinclair in 1885.
11. Hibiscus heterophyllus
An hibiscus flower native to Australia and more commonly known as the Toilet Paper Bush.
The hibiscus illustration is from Edward’s Botanical Register, 1815.
12. Scarlet Rosemallow Black and White Drawing
A black and white drawing of a scarlet rosemallow (Hibiscus coccineus), from A flora of North America by William Barton (1821).
13. Scarlet rosemallow in colour
Botanical hibiscus painting is by Thomas Meehan from The Native Flowers and Ferns of the United States in their botanical, horticultural and popular aspects, Volume II (1879).
14. Hibiscus grewiifolius
This hibiscus is found in the tree forests of Southeast Asia. The drawing is from the Dutch book Atlas of the tree species of Java, by Dr SH Koorders and Dr Th. Valeton,1915.
15. Comfortroot or Pineland Hibiscus
The engraving of this flower is from the Welcome Collection in London.
16. Halberd-leaf rosemallow
Scientifically known as Hibiscus laevis and native to North America. The illustration is from Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 1922.
17. Hairy Fruited Hibiscus
Another North American hibiscus, is scientifically known as Hibiscus lasiocarpos. The flower drawing is from the book, Aquatic and wetland plants of southwestern United States, by Donovan S. Correll and Helen B. Correll.
18. Rose Mallow
From the magazine Addisonia : colored illustrations and popular descriptions of plants (1918).
19. Confederate Rose – Hibiscus mutabilis
From the Botanist’s repository, for new, and rare plants, Henry Charles Andrews,1797.
20. Rosella
This variety of Hibiscus is popular for making hibiscus tea. Botanical illustration from Flore médicale des Antilles , 1821.
21. Rosella Buds
A Pomological Watercolor illustration of the hibiscus fruits of the Rosella plant 1906.
I hoped you enjoyed this collection of vintage hibiscus drawings and illustrations. Don’t forget to check out some of the other popular botanical flower drawings featured on the site.
For more stylised vintage flower prints check out these art nouveau flowers. Adolphe Millot has the best antique botanical posters.
Darling Clementine
Thursday 17th of February 2022
Beautiful illustrations. I love old botanical illustrations and are always on the lookout for botanical books when I go to second-hand bookstores or antiquing. Thank you for sharing these! Also, I am starting a garden and tea link up party on Friday. Would love for you to join us! https://darlingclementine-mn.com/
claire
Wednesday 23rd of February 2022
Thank you so much and thanks for the invite.