Thespesia grandiflora
Species of plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thespesia grandiflora, most commonly known as maga and maga colorada ("red-colored maga"), and also erroneously referred to as amapola (a Puerto Rican term for hibiscus),[3] is a tree in the Malvaceae family of the rosids clade endemic to Puerto Rico, where its flower is officially recognized as the national flower of Puerto Rico. Originally native to the humid, lower limestone mountains of the Cordillera Central and the Northern Karst Belt in the western and north-central regions of the main island, it grows everywhere in the archipelago due to its extensive cultivation. The maga is mostly used as an ornamental plant, but like the related portia, its wood is also valued for its durable timber. It is grown as an ornamental tree in Florida, Hawaii, Honduras, and various Caribbean islands.[4][2][5][6][7][8]
| Thespesia grandiflora | |
|---|---|
| From top, left to right: Close-up of the maga flower in Adjuntas; and wide view of the maga tree in Manatí | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Thespesia |
| Species: | T. grandiflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Thespesia grandiflora | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Though the maga is contained within the same family as hibiscus and may sometimes be referred to as such in English and amapola in Puerto Rican Spanish, truly it belongs to a different genus, and is more closely related to cotton.
Flower
The flower of the maga tree is the official national flower of Puerto Rico.[9]
The flowers are red to pink in color with year-round flowering. The flowers are five-petalled with prominent pistils. Pendents on long stems can be observed. The fruits have three or four seeds. The leaves have an alternate arrangement on stems.[10]
