Gurhal / Shoe-Flower
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
Also known as Chinese Rose, Chinese Hibiscus, Hibiscus, Rose Of China, Tropical Hibiscus
- Habit
- Shrub
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat & more
- Flowering
- Throughout the year
How to identify Gurhal
Identify Gurhal by combining habit, leaf characters, flower or fruit details, location, and its family pattern. Do not rely on one feature alone.
- Look for a shrub habit.
- Confirm flower colour: Red.
- Use the leaf pattern: alternate leaf arrangement, simple leaves, toothed leaf margins, palmate venation.
- In season, compare flowering and fruiting time: Throughout the year.
- In India, compare location records such as Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam and nearby regions.
- Confirm it sits within the Malvaceae family pattern, then compare close relatives before deciding it is Gurhal.
Plant Details
- Scientific name
- Hibiscus rosa-sinensis
- Genus
- Hibiscus
- Family
- Malvaceae
- Habit
- Shrub
- Habitat
- Grown as ornamental plant
- Habitat type
- Cultivated
- Native to
- Pacific Islands
- Distribution
- Cultivated in Tropical and Subtropical countries
- Found in India
- Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Puducherry, Sikkim
- Flowering & fruiting
- Throughout the year
- Conservation status
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Leaf characters
- Arrangement
- Alternate
Characters marked “recorded” are for Gurhal itself; the rest are typical of the Malvaceae family.
Flower & fruit characters
- Flower colour
- Redrecorded
Typical of the family
- Flower symmetry
- Actinomorphic (radially symmetrical)
- Inflorescence
- Solitary
- Fruit
- Capsule
Characters marked “recorded” are for Gurhal itself; the rest are typical of the Malvaceae family — flowering plants only.
Local Names
- Hindi
- Gurhal गुढ़ल, गुड़हल,ला रोजिता la rojita
- Nepali
- जपा कुसुम Japaa Kusum, रक्त पुष्पी Rakta Pushpee, बाह्रमासे फूल Baahramaase Phool
- Bengali
- জবা
- Tamil
- செம்பருத்தி cembarutti, செம்பருத்தி, செவ்வரத்தம் பூ
- Telugu
- మందార పువ్వు, మందార, ముద్దమందారం
- Kannada
- ದಾಸವಾಳ Dasavala, ದಾಸಾಳ Daasaala, ದಾಸವಾಳೆ
- Malayalam
- Chemparati, ചെമ്പരത്തി, ചുവന്ന ചെമ്പരത്തി
- Marathi
- Jaswand जासवंद, जास्वंद
- Sinhala
- වද
Gurhal in India
The big, trumpet-shaped hibiscus is one of India's most planted garden shrubs — Gurhal गुढ़ल (Hindi), செம்பருத்தி cembarutti (Tamil), మందార పువ్వు (Telugu), ದಾಸವಾಳ Dasavala (Kannada), Chemparati (Malayalam), Jaswand जासवंद (Marathi), and 'shoe-flower' in Indian English. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis is grown almost everywhere as an ornamental and temple flower, recorded across Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Assam, Kerala, West Bengal.
Uses
The flowers are offered in worship, especially to the goddess Kali and to Ganesha, and red hibiscus is a familiar sight at shrines. Flowers and leaves are a traditional ingredient in hair oils and rinses, and the petals are brewed as a tart tea — attributed traditional uses.
How to Identify Gurhal
An evergreen shrub with glossy, coarsely toothed leaves and showy five-petalled flowers in red, pink, yellow or white, each with a long central column of fused stamens tipped by the stigma. Most garden forms set little or no seed and are grown from cuttings.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is Shoe-flower called in different Indian languages?
- Gurhal गुढ़ल (Hindi); செம்பருத்தி cembarutti (Tamil); మందార పువ్వు (Telugu); ದಾಸವಾಳ Dasavala (Kannada); Chemparati (Malayalam); Jaswand जासवंद (Marathi); জবা (Bengali).
- Is hibiscus good for hair?
- Hibiscus flowers and leaves are a long-standing ingredient in traditional Indian hair oils and rinses; this is a customary use, not a medical claim.
- Why does a hibiscus flower last only a day?
- Each bloom typically opens for a single day, but a healthy plant flowers almost continuously through the warm months, so there are fresh flowers daily.
Malvaceae
Mallow/Hibiscus family
Gurhal belongs to the Malvaceae family.
The illustration represents the family — not necessarily this exact species.
Explore the Malvaceae familySnap it. Know it.
Point your camera at Gurhal or any plant and SASYA identifies it instantly — on-device, offline, and private.
Common plant problems
If you are starting from symptoms instead of a diagnosis, use the plant disease symptom checker to narrow the cause before treating.
All plant problem & care guidesMore in Malvaceae
View all MalvaceaeSources: GBIF — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (India distribution & vernacular names) (CC BY 4.0) · iNaturalist — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (regional names, India observations) (CC BY 4.0) · Wikipedia — Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (background/comprehension only) (CC BY-SA 4.0)