It is now popular in cultivation[4] and goes by many English names including wax mallow, Turk's cap (mallow), Turk's turban, sleeping hibiscus, manzanilla, manzanita (de pollo), ladies teardrop and Scotchman's purse; many of these common names refer to other, in some cases unrelated, plants.

Malvaviscus arboreus is native to Central America, Mexico, and the Gulf Coast of the United States, particularly as an understory shrub in coastal Texas and Louisiana.

[6] An example occurrence of M. arboreus is within the coastal Petenes mangroves of the Yucatán region of Mexico, in which plant community it is a subdominant species.

[7] M. arboreus is the primary host plant for the caterpillars of the Turk's-cap White-Skipper (Heliopetes macaira).

[8] Malvaviscus arboreus is commonly cultivated in shady to sunny sites in butterfly and hummingbird gardens across the southern United States.