Hibiscus
Hibiscus sabdariff
"The flowers are used in prescriptions for dysentery, mucous vaginal discharges, diarrhea, bloody stool, and dysentery. ... The flowers, bark of the stem and root, root, and fruit are relatively minor articles of material medica in traditional Chinese medicine and are not official in the 1985 Chinese Pharmacopoeia. In laboratory testing the flowers have been shown to have weak antibacterial activity. The flowers are considered nontoxic. The root has some antibacterial and antifungal activity. Water extracts of the fruits [have] been used as a folk cancer remedy. The flowers have been used as a traditional treatment for dysentery, hemorrhoids, and patients 'with confused mind due to wind and heat.' Traditional prescriptions using the flower sometimes call for a particular flower color. ... In Western terms, the flowers are considered astringent, antidiarrheal, and expectorant."
- Herbal Emissaries
“Hibiscus flowers are used for loss of appetite, for colds, catarrhs of the upper respiratory tract and stomach, to dissolve phlegm, as a gentle laxative, diuretic, and for disorders of circulation.”
- Commission E Monograph