Inheritance of foliage color of common rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos (L.)) subspecific hybrids

BACKGROUND: Common rosemallow (Hibiscus moscheutos (L.)) is a native wetland perennial taxon that has been widely used as an ornamental landscape plant for several decades. Its showy blooms, attractive form and foliage, and hardiness attracted the attention of plant enthusiasts, leading to extensive hybridization and subsequent selection of superior genotypes. Red foliage color is a desirable trait, therefore we investigated the mode of inheritance of this trait in H. moscheutos subsp. lasiocarpos (Cavanilles) O. J. Blanchard with intraspecific hybrids of H. moscheutos subsp. moscheutos (L.). RESULTS: Two red-foliaged seed parents of Hibiscus moscheutos subsp. moscheutos (L.) were crossed with green-foliaged paternal parent H. moscheutos subsp. lasiocarpos. Two F(2) full-sib families (n = 192 and 238) were each found to fit a 3 red: 1 green segregation ratio for foliage color using a Chi square goodness-of-fit analysis. For further evaluation of this segregation pattern, each parent was selfed, as were two red-foliaged F(2) plants. The two red-foliaged parents yielded the expected all-red progeny (n = 53 and 178, 1 red: 0 green) and the green-foliaged parent yielded 244 green and 6 red plants, fitting the expected 0 red: 1 green (P = 0.704) ratio. Additionally, progeny from the two red-foliaged F(2) plants fit the expected 1 red: 0 green ratio (n = 135 and 120). CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate the appearance of red foliage, in any amount, in the two subspecies utilized and our hybrids of hibiscus to be controlled by a single locus with a dominant allele for red foliage. We propose the gene be called “green foliage” where the dominant allele, G, yields a red foliage phenotype. When the recessive allele, g, is present in the homozygous form, progeny consist of an all-green foliage phenotype for Hibiscus moscheutos (L.). Understanding the mode of inheritance of red-foliage phenotype in hibiscus would prove useful in further ornamental breeding work.