Hibiscus 2

 

Hibiscus flowers are plentiful in NYC during the summer. 

They come in a variety of pretty colors and you can find them in all the local botanical gardens,

but also in the Amherst roof garden. 

That’s how you know that they are user friendly. 😉

Thanks to a sign on the High Line, I have learned that this variety is called “Swamprose Mallow.”  You would have thought that they could have come up with a prettier name.  Apparently though the flower has a unique pollinator native to New York called – you guessed it – the Rose Mallow Bee.  So that explains that. 

 Needless to say having a solitary pollinator is a bit risky, particularly with global warming.

Unfortunately, the majority of bee species in NYC are solitary – one bee, one flower. 

But, the presence of so many types of hibiscus in the city suggests that so far they are ok. 

Here’s hoping they stay that way for the foreseeable future. 

 NYC would not be the same without them.

Here’s a previous hibiscus blog…

https://pj-studio.blogspot.com/2015/08/pink-hibiscus.html

 

Cheers!

PJ

 

© 2023 PJ Lehrer