Podcast 285: Hibiscus Energetics by Species & Part 🌺

Today’s episode is about hibiscus energetics – a quick clarification on plant species & parts, and how herbal energetics & actions may differ among them.

The hibiscus you find most often in stores or shops or herbal drinks is Hibiscus sabdariffa, and it’s the specific part of the flower called the calyx.

The calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa is distinct from those of other species in the genus. From this species, this part is fleshy, red, and sour. These characteristics are signals to us. The red comes from anthocyanins, and indicates antioxidant/anti-inflammatory and blood-vessel-stabilizing actions; the sour means draining to excess fluid, and cooling to excess heat. Energetically, then, it’s cooling, drying, tonifying.

This is also the part with greater evidence for impacts on reducing cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and blood pressure. There is some evidence that hibiscus can lower blood sugar, as well. This part has an interaction with the antimalarial drug chloroquine – but this is also true of lemonade and other acidic drinks, not a uniquely hibiscus problem. Almost all discussion of and research about hibiscus revolves around H. sabdariffa calyx.

Other species of Hibiscus don’t produce that fleshy calyx. The leaves and flower petals of H. sabdariffa itself, and the leaves and flowers of other Hibiscus species (e.g. the rose of Sharon, H. syriacus and rose mallow, H. rosa-sinensis), are more similar to the herb marshmallow & other members of the mallow family. They are cooling, moistening, and relaxant, with a mucilaginous quality. They can help with dry coughs, sore throats, dehydration, and similar dry conditions.

So to review: all parts of all species are cooling. Leaf & flower are moistening & relaxant. H. sabdariffa calyx is drying & tonifying. You can compare the H.sab calyx to rose hips, and the leaves & flowers to marshmallow.

It’s important to keep this distinction in mind whenever discussing “hibiscus”!

All this illustrates a fundamental truth of herbalism, very clearly: plant species, part of plant, and other specific details about an herb can make a big difference in how we work with it, and what it can accomplish. So, don’t let these details slip past you! They could make the difference between a remedy that does the job, and one that lets you down.

For further info on hibiscus:

• HHP 191: Herbs A-Z: Hibiscus & Hypericum
• images of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx at IPlantz
• Hibiscus profile at Herbal Reality

And for more high-quality education about herbs, with all the necessary details and nuances: learn with us!

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Episode Transcript

Ryn (00:15):
Hi, I’m Ryn. And I’m here at Commonwealth Holistic Herbalism in Boston, Massachusetts and on the internet everywhere, thanks to the power of the podcast. All right, today’s is going to be a quick episode. This is a clarification on plant species and parts, specifically focusing on the herb hibiscus and a couple relatives. And looking at the ways that energetics and actions can differ among them, sometimes in important ways and certainly in relevant ways to our work as herbalists. But first, just a quick reminder that our sale is on for the whole month of July. Everything’s included, every course, every program, all the stuff that we’ve got, all 20% off. So listen, before you go out to see the new Spider-Man movie, get yourself some herbal education. 20% off, use the code CATNIP at checkout, and that’s all you need to know. So, let me also give an abbreviated version of our reclaimer for the podcast, which is where we just remind you that we’re not doctors. We’re herbalists and holistic health educators. That the ideas in this podcast do not constitute medical advice. They’re for educational purposes only because everyone’s body is different. And remember that the final decision about whether to try something or pursue a course of action is always yours alone.

Hibiscus sabdariffa & Its Unique Calyx

(01:32):
Okay, so let’s talk about hibiscus. The hibiscus that you find in stores, or in shops, or online, or in herbal drinks is almost always, almost 100% of the time guaranteed to be the specific species Hibiscus sabdariffa. So genus Hibiscus, species sabdariffa. And from that species it’s the part of the plant called the calyx. What is a calyx? A calyx is the term for all of the sepals together. You may be thinking back to any botany you’ve ever learned. And okay, we’ve got a flower. It’s got petals, and then it has sepals. Sepals are modified leaves that occur on the outermost whirl or the outermost edge of the flowering part of the plant. They’re like leaves because usually they have a broad base to them. They have green coloration in most cases but not with Hibiscus sabdariffa, as we’ll see in a moment. And they are often a little different from the other leaves on the plant. They might be waxy or tough. And sometimes they fall off, and sometimes they stick to the flower as it develops and as it forms a seed and a fruit around there. And in the case of hibiscus in particular, they develop into what’s called an accessory fruit. And that means a fruit that has developed out of more parts of the flower or more parts of the plant than just the ovary, which is where the seeds themselves form.

(03:10):
So in the case of hibiscus, we have the entire calyx, all of the sepals together. We’ve got the flower, we’ve got the parts in the middle that stick out, the reproductive bits. We’ve got the flower petals on Hibiscus sabdariffa. They’re red, and a little fluffy looking, and soft. And then under that we have the calyx. These are these modified leaves, a special part of the plant. In Hibiscus sabdariffa in particular, the calyx is distinct from other species in that same genus. So you’ve got other varieties, well not varieties but species of hibiscus that are similar in a lot of ways, similar overall flower shape, but their calyx isn’t the same. In Hibiscus sabdariffa, that calyx, it becomes fleshy, and red, and sour as it develops. And those characteristics of that are signals to us as herbalists. The redness is a color, and colors come from pigments. And in this case we know that they come from anthocyanins, which are a really well-known group of pigment compounds that occur in a lot of plants that have red, blue, and purple coloration to them. And they convey these antioxidant effects, these anti-inflammatory actions, even capacity to stabilize and improve the integrity of blood vessels. Particularly in the tiniest blood vessels, which can be relevant for things like eye health. Because a lot of eye problems develop when the tiny little capillaries that feed the nerves in the eye start to break down or have struggles, inflammation problems developing. And so we can look at some particulars like eye health, but we can also look more broadly and say hey, this is going to help to bring down inflammation. This is going to help to stabilize these important tissues that are involved in the delivery of blood, and nutrients, and oxygen to all the other tissues in the body. So the effects can be far reaching and profound. But we can know almost all of that from just the color. The fact that we have a really brightly, deeply pigmented plant part that we can work with there. We can expect those kind of activities, and we do receive them.

Energetics, Actions, & Cautions

(05:19):
Now, the flavor of that calyx from Hibiscus sabdariffa is sour. And sour is a signal to us as herbalists also. Sour means that we can expect a draining effect, a drying effect ultimately because of stirring up and eliminating excess fluids from the body. Sour herbs are also cooling. And so when someone is experiencing a lot of heat as part of their constitution, or as part of a symptom or a condition that they’re going through at the moment, or just because it’s a hot August day. Then we sort of instinctively reach for something sour, lemonade, limeade, something like that, or a nice, cool infusion of Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx. Because that specific part of the plant is sour and also red. And all these things also are indicators to us about the energetics of the plant. I’ve already used some energetic terminology in describing this, right? So, this part of this species is energetically cooling, and also drying, and also tonifying. All that sourness is coming from plant acids that are present in that plant and in that part of the plant especially, especially concentrated there. And so they contribute to a tonifying quality. Not dissimilar to the way that tannin content in plants does, but with a different kind of a degree and a different specificity to it.

(06:47):
So this, again, is the most common part of the plant and the most common specific species that people are looking at and talking about when they mention hibiscus as an herbal remedy. This is also the part and species that has greater evidence for impacts on things like bringing down cholesterol levels, especially LDL cholesterol levels. Bringing down triglycerides as well, which is a really beneficial effect for cardiovascular health and your lipid profile, as well as blood pressure. These are all associated specifically with Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx taken in tea or other methods as well. There’s even some evidence that this can lower blood sugar in addition, which is really beneficial in modern environments and modern populations. Now, this is also the part of the plant, if you go and you search on does hibiscus have any drug interactions, you’ll see a number of different options turn up, some connected to the beneficial effects that the plant has. Like if somebody is taking a drug to lower their blood sugar, maybe they should be a little thoughtful about working with hibiscus because it can also lower blood sugar. I’ll say that in reality usually that doesn’t cause something dangerous or problematic, but you will see that in the literature when you go searching. Similarly for effects on cholesterol levels, like combining habitual consumption of hibiscus infusions with a statin drug, you’re usually going to run across a caution like that. Again, I would say in the real world usually that kind of additive effect is more beneficial than problematic, but just to explain why you would see that.

(08:19):
The most common caution that’s raised though, and the one that’s of the greatest concern is actually with an antimalarial drug called chloroquine. And you’ll see that hibiscus infusions, or tea, or whatever can reduce the efficacy of that very important potentially lifesaving drug. So that’s serious, that’s real. But it’s also worth saying that this is true about lemonade, and it’s true about any acidic drink. Because anything acidic that’s taken together with that particular drug is going to inhibit its absorption and its activity in the body. So, it’s not like something super specific to hibiscus. It’s because, again, of those sour tasting plant acids that are super concentrated in the calyx of Hibiscus sabdariffa. So again, almost all discussions of hibiscus and research about hibiscus, even if it’s just stated in the general sense, is going to be about Hibiscus sabdariffa and its calyx.

Other Hibiscus Species & Their Energetics

(09:16):
But again, there are other species of this plant out there in the world. There’s a lot of them. And other species of hibiscus don’t produce that same kind of a calyx. They have a calyx, they have sepals. They have a whole group of them, and altogether we could say there is the calyx on that species. But they don’t develop into that thick, fleshy, red, sour structure that we get on Hibiscus sabdariffa. And so in this context it’s worth noting that the leaves and flowers of any hibiscus species, including sabdariffa but also including other species like the plant called rose of sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, or the plant called rose mallow, Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis, those are all much more similar to marshmallow and to other members of the mallow family, the Malvaceae. And by that I want to say that they are cooling, yes, but moistening and relaxant in nature. And they have mucilaginous qualities to them. And this is why you can see them being helpful for things like a dry cough, a sore irritated throat, for overall dehydration of the body, for difficulty maintaining good fluid balance and fluid retention, and for other conditions that we would categorize in our herbal energetics as dry or based on dryness. All right.

(10:41):
And it’s worth noting because many of those plants are pretty easy to grow at home. Hibiscus × rosa-sinensis, for instance, is a very easy plant to grow and to cultivate in a pretty broad range of ecosystems and environments. And it’s really handy to have a mucilaginous herb around when you need one. Of course in the modern world we can buy marshmallow root, and elm bark, and Irish moss seaweed, and other things that have those mucilaginous qualities, but it’s lovely to grow your own. And these plants grow large, large, tall plants with big flowers and large leaves. And so from a small amount of ground space, you can get a decent amount of plant material to work with.

(11:23):
All right. Now, just to review again, and just to really drive the point home here, all the parts of all the different species are cooling. They share that quality. The leaf and the flower from any of those species is going to be moistening and relaxant. If we get Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx though, that is going to be drying and tonifying. And so we could make some comparisons as ways to kind of group these with herbs that we’re familiar with and that we work with, just to give them a little affinity group of who they would hang out with best. And so in that regard, we would say that Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx is maybe most similar to rosehips. Another sour, drying, cooling, tonifying herb with a lot of anthocyanins, with a lot of antioxidant capacity, and those other kind of benefits are there as well. But the leaves and the flowers from Hibiscus sabdariffa, rosa-sinensis, syriacus, any other species, they’re more similar to marshmallow.

(12:21):
Okay. So it’s important to keep those distinctions in mind whenever we find ourselves discussing hibiscus or reading information about hibiscus. If it’s not otherwise specified, assume that they’re probably talking about sabdariffa calyx. If you see terms like anthocyanin, or sour, or red, then you know that that’s the specific part they’re talking about. The leaves and flowers, even if they were red tinted from those other plants or other species, they’re not going to turn the whole tea a deep, dark, beautiful red color the way that the calyx does. So, we can get some clarity about what we’re discussing just based on, again, those organoleptic signals, things that come in through your senses.

Plant Species & Parts Matter

(13:01):
All right. Now, if you’ve been a longtime listener of the podcast, you may have noticed that we’ve mentioned this before. For instance, in episode 191 when we were doing herbs A to Z, and we were doing Hibiscus there alongside Hypericum. I put a link in the show notes if you didn’t get to hear that one, but we go into a little more detail, a little more explanation about the ways that we can work with Hibiscus sabdariffa calyx as a remedy and the kind of benefits that we can expect from it. But I did want to just carve this out and give it its own presentation in this kind of brief format. In part because I want to have something that addresses this very directly and in great clarity so that I can send this over to people every time this issue comes to mind. Which is fairly often as people are students in our programs or working with us in other ways and are learning about this plant and getting interested in hibiscus more broadly.

(13:50):
But I also wanted to highlight this because it illustrates a fundamental truth about herbalism, a very basic facet about this kind of medicine, which is that plant species, the part of the plant we work with, and other specific details like that can make a big difference in how we work with that herb and what we can accomplish with it. So, don’t let those details slip past you. They could make the difference between a remedy that does the job and one that lets you down. All right. So I’ve got some links in the show notes here, including to our prior discussion of it on the pod. Also to a nice page from an organization called iPlantz, which focuses on tropical herbs that has some really nice images specifically of Hibiscus sabdariffa and the calyx formation, so that you can really see what I’m talking about there. And to a profile of hibiscus from the folks over at Herbal Reality where they talk about both this species and rosa-sinensis. And there are some points of differentiation that are called out between them there as well. All right.

(14:53):
And if you’re looking for some more high-quality education about herbs and herbalism with all those necessary details and nuances, then come and join us. Join us at online.commonwealthherbs.com. And don’t forget that everything is on sale for the whole month of July. All of our offerings, all of our self-paced online video courses and programs that compile them together into a whole thread of education and training for you, they’re all on sale. And they all come as always with free access to twice weekly live Q&A sessions with us, lifetime access to the current and any future course material we add later on. Lifetime access, never going to go away. No ticking timer on your educational countdown. You buy the course, you’ve got it. As long as there’s an internet, and we’re on it, you have access to it. Every course has a discussion thread on every single lesson. So, if you’ve got a question while you’re watching or reading, open it up, pop a question in there. Our faculty will get a response to you within 24 hours.

(15:52):
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