說明/ 常綠灌木或小喬木，高約 2–3 公尺。臺灣全年都是扶桑花之花期，盛開在 5 到 6 月間，廣泛分布於熱帶及亞熱帶地區，臺灣約於清初時引進。花朵大，且色彩明亮， 多為單生、腋生，扶桑花有五瓣花瓣，葉則為單葉互生，於臺灣較不結果，經常種植於花園做為觀賞植物。李時珍《本草綱目》：「扶桑，產南方，乃木槿別種。其枝柯柔弱，葉深綠，微澀如桑。其花有紅、黃、白三色，紅色者尤貴，呼為朱槿。」，朱槿的莖皮纖維可用來作為紡織品的材料。（黃伊君攝）
A evergreen shrub or small tree that can grow up to 2-3 m tall. The plant flowers throughout the year in Taiwan, but mostly blooms between May and June. Widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions, it was introduced into Taiwan during the Qing dynasty. The flowers are large and bright in color with five petals, and often appear in a single flower located in the axil. The leaves are single and alternate. The plant seldom bears fruit in Taiwan. It is widely grown as an ornamental plant in gardens. In Li Shi-zhen’s Compendium of Materia Medica, it is mentioned that “Fusang, from the south, is a variant of Rose of Sharon. Its branches are soft; the leaves are dark green like mulberry leaves. The flowers come in three colors: red, yellow and white. The red flowers are especially precious, and are known as China Rose.” Fibers extracted from the stems can be used for textiles. (Photo courtesy of Huang Yi-jun)