There are some herbs we first come to know as medicine and others that quietly find their way into everyday life.
Hibiscus does both.
Its brilliant ruby-red color and unmistakably tart flavor make it one of the easiest herbs to recognize in a tea blend. It can be served steaming hot in the winter or poured over ice for a tart treat on a warm summer afternoon; behind the cup is a plant with a long history of traditional use and some interesting modern research.
Hibiscus is also a good example of something I love about herbalism. Traditional use, plant chemistry, and modern science speak different parts of the same story.
Botanical Snapshot
Botanical Name: Hibiscus sabdariffa
Common Names: Hibiscus, Roselle, Red Sorrel, Sour Tea
Family: Malvaceae
Part Used: Calyx
Native Habitat: Thought to have originated in Africa and now cultivated throughout tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
Meet the Plant
Hibiscus belongs to the Malvaceae family, making it a relative of marshmallow, hollyhock, and okra.
One of the most interesting things about the hibiscus is that what we commonly call the “flower” is not actually the flower petal.
After Hibiscus sabdariffa flowers, the fleshy calyx surrounding the developing seedpod enlarges and turns a deep red. These calyces are harvested and dried, becoming the familiar tart, crimson herb found in teas and traditional preparations around the world.
It is also important to know the species.
There are many beautiful ornamental plants called hibiscus, but the hibiscus traditionally used in herbal teas and preparations is generally Hibiscus sabdariffa, also known as roselle.
Get to Know Her
Hibiscus has been woven into food and herbal traditions across Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean for generations.
Depending on where you encounter it, that ruby-red drink may be known by an entirely different name. Roselle, bissap, karkade, sorrel, and agua de Jamaica are all connected to preparations of Hibiscus sabdariffa.
What I find interesting is how consistently hibiscus has been used as a beverage in warm climates. Before we could identify individual anthocyanins or study vascular function in a laboratory, people knew hibiscus as a tart, refreshing, cooling plant.
Traditional use has extended beyond simply quenching thirst. Different cultures have used hibiscus in connection with cardiovascular health, digestion, fluid balance, and general nourishment.
What Makes This Plant Different?
Color is one of the first clues.
A strong hibiscus infusion develops an extraordinary ruby to deep crimson color. That color reflects some of the phytochemistry of the plant. Hibiscus contains an interesting group of pigments called anthocyanins, along with organic acids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, and polysaccharides.
This chemistry gives hibiscus both its color and its characteristic tartness.
Hibiscus is also an herb whose quality is easy to appreciate with your senses. Good dried hibiscus should retain a rich red to burgundy color and produce a distinctly tart and vibrantly colored infusion.
Taste & Energetics
Taste: Sour, tart, mildly astringent
Energetics: Cooling and moistening
Traditional Affinities: Cardiovascular system, vascular system, kidneys and fluid balance
Hibiscus is a wonderful example of how taste and energetics can help us understand an herb.
The sour taste is immediately apparent. There is also a mild astringency beneath it.
Energetically, hibiscus is cooling and refreshing, which helps explain why cultures living in some of the hottest regions of the world have traditionally enjoyed it as a beverage.
Herbal Actions
Depending upon the herbal tradition and reference used, hibiscus may be described as:
Cooling
Astringent
Antioxidant
Cardiovascular supportive
Vascular supportive
Mildly diuretic
Nutritive and refreshing
Herbal actions are useful, but they are only part of understanding a plant. An herb is more than a list of actions. The preparation, dose, energetics, constitution of the person, and overall pattern all matter.
Key Constituents
Hibiscus contains a complex mixture of plant constituents, but several groups are particularly noteworthy.
Its characteristic red color comes largely from anthocyanins, including delphinidin-3-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-sambubioside.
Other constituents include flavonoids and phenolic compounds such as protocatechuic acid, along with several organic acids including hibiscus acid, hydroxycitric acid, citric acid, malic acid, and tartaric acid.
Those organic acids contribute significantly to the sour flavor that makes hibiscus so recognizable.
These constituents are also part of the reason hibiscus has attracted scientific interest, particularly in the areas of antioxidant activity, vascular function, blood pressure, and cardiovascular health.
Plants are chemically complex, and the amount of any particular constituent can vary according to genetics, growing conditions, harvest, processing, storage, and the preparation ultimately used.
What Modern Research Tells Us
Hibiscus has become one of the more extensively studied traditional herbal beverages, particularly in relation to cardiovascular health. Its tonic-like qualities made it a perfect choice for our Heart Tonic Tea.
Blood pressure is one of the areas with the most interesting human research.
A 2022 systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated 17 chronic clinical trials examining Hibiscus sabdariffa and cardiovascular risk markers. Collectively, hibiscus consumption was associated with a reduction in systolic blood pressure compared with control interventions. Interestingly, the effect tended to be greater in individuals whose blood pressure was higher at the beginning of the studies.
Research has also explored possible effects on diastolic blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, glucose regulation, and other cardiometabolic markers.
The evidence is not equally strong in every area. Laboratory research can tell us something about how a plant or constituent behaves under controlled conditions. Animal studies give us another layer of information. Human clinical trials tell us something different again.
None of these should automatically be interpreted as proof that an herb treats a disease.
I believe that good herbal education requires us to be comfortable saying both things at once: the research on hibiscus is genuinely interesting, and there is still more to learn.
This idea gives us a much more accurate picture than turning every positive study into another claim on a list of “benefits.”
How We Prepare It
Hibiscus is simple to prepare.
For a basic hot infusion, use approximately 1–2 teaspoons of dried hibiscus calyx per 8 ounces of hot water. Cover and steep for approximately 10–15 minutes, then strain.
The longer and stronger it infuses, the deeper the color and more pronounced the tartness become.
Hibiscus also makes a beautiful cold infusion. Add the dried calyces to cool water and allow them to infuse in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before straining.
Its naturally tart flavor pairs well with rose hips, cinnamon, ginger, mint, lemon balm, citrus peel, and honey.
It can also be incorporated into syrups, oxymels, tea blends, and culinary preparations. If you would like to try this in preparations, we offer it in 1 oz increments here.
Growing & Harvesting
Hibiscus sabdariffa loves warmth.
It thrives in tropical and subtropical climates and can also be grown as an annual in areas with a sufficiently long, warm growing season.
After flowering, the red calyx begins to enlarge around the developing seedpod. This is the portion harvested for the familiar hibiscus used in tea.
The calyces are separated from the seedpods and dried carefully to preserve their color and quality.
I have found that it can be grown in TN with success if you start it indoors very early in the season. It is a race to get it to flower and produce calyxes before the first frost. But it is very rewarding when you succeed. One plant can be 4-6 feet wide in flower, so plan accordingly.
As with so many herbs, what happens between field and finished product matters. Harvest timing, drying conditions, storage, light, moisture, and age can all affect the quality of the herb that eventually reaches your cup.
From Sherri’s Apothecary
Hibiscus is one of my favorite examples of an herb that does not have to look or taste medicinal to have value.
Sometimes herbal medicine comes in a dropper bottle, and sometimes it is a beautiful glass of ruby-red tea.
I appreciate hibiscus because there are so many layers to learn from. We have generations of traditional use. We have the taste and energetics of the plant. We can examine its anthocyanins, organic acids, and other constituents. And now we have human research allowing us to explore some of the ways those pieces may intersect physiologically.
None of those perspectives needs to cancel out the others. I don't believe we have to choose between respecting traditional herbal knowledge and asking good scientific questions about the plants we use.
There is room for both.
Safety Considerations
Hibiscus has a long history of use as a food and beverage and is generally well tolerated in typical food and tea amounts.
Because research suggests that hibiscus may influence blood pressure, individuals taking blood-pressure-lowering medications or those who already have low blood pressure should use additional care with regular therapeutic use.
Potential herb-drug interactions should also be considered. Although hibiscus has a generally favorable safety record, our understanding of its interactions with medications is not complete.
There is insufficient human safety information to establish therapeutic use during pregnancy and lactation, so additional caution is appropriate.
As with any botanical, individual sensitivity or allergic reaction is possible.
And remember that botanical identity matters. The hibiscus used traditionally in these preparations is Hibiscus sabdariffa. Not every ornamental hibiscus should be assumed to have the same chemistry or traditional use.
References
Da-Costa-Rocha, I., Bonnlaender, B., Sievers, H., Pischel, I., & Heinrich, M. (2014). Hibiscus sabdariffa L.—A phytochemical and pharmacological review. Food Chemistry, 165, 424–443. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2014.05.002
Ellis, L. R., Zulfiqar, S., Holmes, M., Marshall, L., Dye, L., & Boesch, C. (2022). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of Hibiscus sabdariffa on blood pressure and cardiometabolic markers. Nutrition Reviews, 80(6), 1723–1737. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuab104
Hopkins, A. L., Lamm, M. G., Funk, J. L., & Ritenbaugh, C. (2013). Hibiscus sabdariffa L. in the treatment of hypertension and hyperlipidemia: A comprehensive review of animal and human studies. Fitoterapia, 85, 84–94.
McKay, D. L., Chen, C. Y. O., Saltzman, E., & Blumberg, J. B. (2010). Hibiscus sabdariffa L. tea (tisane) lowers blood pressure in prehypertensive and mildly hypertensive adults. The Journal of Nutrition, 140(2), 298–303.
About the Author
Sherri Stickler, RH (AHG) is a Registered Herbalist with the American Herbalists Guild, herbal educator, author, and founder of Synergy Herbal Works. She brings more than 20 years of clinical healthcare experience as a Registered Respiratory Therapist to her work and has practiced clinical herbalism since 2014.
Her approach brings together traditional herbal knowledge, modern botanical research, physiology, phytochemistry, and years of practical experience working with herbs and the people who use them.
Learn more about Sherri Stickler, RH (AHG), her professional work, writing, speaking, and consulting.
This Materia Medica is provided for educational purposes. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent disease or to replace individualized medical care.
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