The Latin name for a suite of genera including this one.
Creeping to erect annual, biennial or perennial herbs. Leaves 5-7 lobed, palmately veined, edges round-toothed; leaf stalks long; stipules ovate. Flowers axillary, solitary or in clusters. Epicalyx segments 3, free. Sepals 5, united at the base. Petals notched. Carpels 7-12. Fruit indehiscent, a disk-shaped schizocarp; seeds and ovules 1 per chamber.
Weedy species naturalised in all states.
Several species have medicinal uses. M. verticillata var. crispa is used in salads, M. sylvestris has an edible fruit.
Fruit a schizocarp with the appearance of a round cheese; epicalyx segments 3, free; stigma extending along the style branches.
About 30 species from temperate Asia, Africa, Europe and N America.
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.