It is an artificial hybrid created in cultivation in pre-European times by Polynesians in the west Pacific from the species Hibiscus cooperi and H. kaute.

[6] Cultivars and hybrids have flowers in a variety of colors as well as red: white, pink, orange, peach, yellow, blue, and purple.

The ovary and other female parts of the flower lie in the main structure of the hibiscus: the pistil, which is long and tubular.

The male part of the flower, called the stamen, consists of stem-like filaments and anthers.

[8] His description was based on specimens with double bright red flowers in cultivation in the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia.

H. kaute was important in Polynesian culture and medicine, which appears to have led to it being taken across the south Pacific, where it eventually hybridized with H. cooperi.

[9] Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis is one of many plants with a genetic characteristic known as polyploidy, a condition in which there are more than two complete sets of chromosomes.

Competitions are held to exhibit and judge the many resulting new seedlings and often strikingly unique flowers.

[citation needed] Despite its size and colorful hues which are typically attractive to nectarivore birds, the flowers of Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis are not visited regularly by hummingbirds when grown in the Neotropics.

[17] The endangered Papilio homerus butterfly, the largest in the western hemisphere, is known to feed on the nectar of H. × rosa-sinensis.

[6][19] Numerous cultivars exist, with flower colors ranging from white through yellow and orange to scarlet and shades of pink, with both single and double sets of petals.

[24] The plant may have some potential in cosmetic skin care; for example, an extract from the flowers of H. × rosa-sinensis has been shown to function as an anti-solar agent by absorbing ultraviolet radiation.

[25] Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis is the national flower of Malaysia, called bunga raya in Malay.

Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis is an unofficial national flower in Haiti, where it has been used as a symbol for the promotion of tourism.