Sure, I can do that! Do you want rose of sharon seeds, too? That same neighbor has rose of sharon (which is verrrrrrrry common in landscaping here), so I can easily ask her if I can grab seeds from those plants, too.
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Don’t know, I have yet to try rose mallow
Nice! For sure! It’s probably a different cultivar of Rose of Sharon than the ones I got. Do you remember the flower color?
Pink, in the case of both species.
There are also white and purple rose of sharon bushes that other neighbors around me have. And I’ve seen both light pink and dark magenta, which are different hues though not different colors. If there are any colors in particular you’re interested in, I can ask those neighbors if I can harvest seeds from those plants in fall.
I’m more so just collecting diversity, so the more different colors the better, although they probably crossed with the white & Purple already right? Cuz pollinators flys form neighbor to neighbor bush.
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Yeah, random crossings are likely. 
There is also the possibility that the pink color could be a case of incompete dominance (one red allele, one white allele) – I know that’s how it works in some species. Does anyone know if that’s true with mallows?
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Types of Hibiscus moscheutos
The boundaries on what has been described as H. moscheutos have changed somewhat over time and varied between authorities. Even though it is a century old, I’ve found these descriptions of subtypes useful.
The types described in this excerpt include populations of what, at the time, some authorities were calling H. palustris and H. moscheutos. Palustris is now generally considered part of H. mocheutos or to be a subspecies of H. moschetuos.
Excerpt from NOTES REGARDING VARIABILITY OF THE ROSE MALLOWS
A. B. Stout. 1917.
…
Self-fertilized progenies were grown to determine what forms breed true, and cross-pollinations were made between various forms and between various well recognized species in the attempt to reveal clews as to their relationship and to the variability that may arise in nature by natural crossing.At the present time the cultures of Hibiscus Moscheutos grown at the New York Botanical Garden include several races which appear to breed true and which are sufficiently distinct to be readily identified. Unless specifically mentioned the characters agree closely with those of the species as described above. The color determinations were made with the aid of Ridgway’s Color Standards and Nomenclature.
Race 1
No red in foliage. Corolla-blades amaranth pink, except for an almost pure white area of a radius of about three eighths of an inch at base surrounding stamen column. Stamens of nearly equal length, those at base of column only slightly shorter. Pollen yellow. Stigmatic lobes broad. Pods blunt. The general character of this race is shown in the colored plate presented in the National Geographic Magazine 39: 597 and which, as it now seems, may be taken as a biological type of the species.
Race 2
Like race 1, but with darker shade of coloration in petals.
Race 3
Like race 1, but decidedly paler, the color being noticeable but of a very pale diffuse pink.
Race 4
Like race 1 , but with the white of the center extending out along the main veins nearly to the tips of the corolla-lobes in radiating streaks.
Race 5
An alba form, nearly pure white; faintest suggestion of pink coloration in buds and occasionally in flowers. Pollen almost white, noticeably less yellow than in races 1-4.
Race 6
An eyed form : Tyrian rose at base of petals for radius of about half an inch, the color extending out in veins into the blades which are chiefly a dead white. Pollen white. Considerable red pigmentation in stems and in the petioles, and veins of the leaves.
Race 7
Red coloration decided in stems and in the petioles and veins of the leaves. Corolla fully colored, amaranth pink at tips of lobes, the color gradually becoming more intense until at the base of the stamen column it is almost Tyrian rose; color slightly more intense in veins of lobes; areas of color extending up stamen column and into stamens. Pollen yellow. Stigmatic lobes smaller than in forms 1-6. Pods decidedly beaked.
This form is undoubtedly sufficiently different from Hibiscus Moscheutos to be considered as a distinct species. In respect to flower color and shape of capsule especially, it is decidedly different from ordinary forms of the species. Thus far I have seen but one plant of this form growing wild. Two generations of self -fertilized offspring have bred true.
Various crosses have been made between several of the above forms. In general the F1 generation in each case has been rather intermediate. An F2 generation has been grown of the cross between Races 5 and 7; the characteristics of Race 7 pre-dominated in the large majority of this generation.
…
M. L. Fernald uses only three main types. This description of the leaf shapes and proportions has been useful to me.
Excerpts from HIBISCUS MOSCHEUTOS AND H. PALUSTRIS
M. L. Fernald. 1942
For three and a half centuries three variations of the native Hibiscus of the Atlantic slope of the United States, with lanceovate to subrotund leaves green and glabrous or merely scabridulous above and soft-pubescent beneath, have been cultivated in Europe. These include (1) the more northern plant with the principal cauline leaves, below the inflorescence, broadly ovate to suborbicular in outline and often angulate-lobed (suggesting maple leaves), averaging three fourths as broad as long but sometimes even broader than long, with most or all peduncles free, except sometimes at base, from the subtending petioles, the petals pink to purple, with deeper-colored base, the branches of the style pilose or hirtellous, the capsule subglobose or depressed; (2) a plant quite similar to no. 1 but with creamy-white corolla with red center; and (3) a very different plant, with the principal leaves narrowly ovate to ovate-lanceolate and unlobed or only obsoletely so, or the lower tricuspidate, long-acuminate, averaging only one-third as wide as long, some of the peduncles fused to the lower halves of the subtending petioles, the corolla white or whitish with crimson or red eye, the long styles with glabrous branches, the unexpanded capsules conic-ovoid.
So generally were no. 1 (with relatively broad and short leaves, free peduncles and pink corollas) and no. 3 (with narrower and proportionately longer leaves, often fused peduncles and petioles, and white corollas with red centers) in European gardens and so frequently were they illustrated in full color…
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Following my post about classifying subtypes within Hibiscus moscheutos, I would like to visit the topic of edible leaves.
This swamp rose mallow above seems to fit Races 1-5 of Stout (1917), having come from a population of mixed white and pink corollas. It would be classified as type Number 3 from Fernald (1942).
Even the smallest of these leaves are fiberous and unpleasant to eat raw. There may be a way to use the cooked leaves, but after some very preliminary trials it doesn’t seem like they would be very useful cooked either.
This second swamp rose mallow photo seems to fall into the other categories; either Race 6 or 7 in the Stout classification, and either No. 1 or 2 in Fernald. I am hoping that the maple like leaf shapes are reliable indicator of this type. These leaves are a little bit fiberous, but can be eaten raw. Cooked would be better. ‘Spinach’ seems like the right word for how these greens can be used, but they are a little bit more like cabbage than spinach in texture.
This roselle has leaves that taste great, and could be used in salad. They have a cranberry-esque flavor like roselle tea. They also remind me of cabbage, but are less fiberous than the previously described H. moscheutos. If the perennial species could be moved in the direction of these roselle leaves I would be very pleased.
This ‘true okra’ plant is currently teeming with ants stealing its moisture, but I ate a few leaves recently. These leaves are bland in a way that would be good for spinach (or cabbagy) greens. They have little or none of the toughness/stringyness/fiberousness of the H. moscheutos.
Rose of Sharon - I’m not sure I have a photo of this plant handy
Even the smallest leaves are fibrous or stringy. Do people really eat these leaves?
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Excellent Photos + useful info on the varieties of Hibiscus moscheutos. I like to think of Phylogenically close species as varieties of a single species.
I mostly eat the flower petals & avoid the leaves because they are too fibrous. Especially when Basswood/Linden, Hollyhock & mallows are much much softer & nicer to eat.
WOW! Now that’s interesting. Why does it taste like cranberry roselle flavor? Perhaps it’s more closer to roselle than to Hibiscus moscheutos?
Hi Mark, I realized I was posting pictures to the general discussion thread so I moved to your thread. Hope that’s ok.
I’m really fascinated with seeing what the mallow is doing to cope with winter. Haven’t really paid attention before.
The sun is shining in the high tunnel now so it’s well above freezing now. When I looked earlier this morning, the plants were more wilted, now they are perked up. I’m assuming this means they are sending sap down to the roots at night and back up when it gets warm again.
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After last year’s droughts, we experienced a few very low temperatures, and then a flood. The local wild populations that are the genetic basis for this project were generally under water.
I believe that a flood a couple of years ago helped propagate the wild rose mallows I have been visiting. I expect that this year’s flood will have destroyed some populations and created new ones in different spots. That is the case for my rose mallow plantings: some were alternately frozen and under a couple of inches of water for a period of time.
I’ve lost some of my plantings, but others survive as indicated by new shoots growing. I’m moving the lowest-altitude individuals a few feet higher for safety and I took these photos.
One shows the root mass of a couple of woody stems from last year. The roots do tend to cluster tightly around the base of their associated stem which isn’t very clear from my photo.
Because of my schedule I am not sure I will be updating this thread as frequently this year. Regardless, I do plan to continue growing and selecting for the project.
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