Hibiscus Tattoo Meaning, Design & Ideas

The wonderful thing about looking for your next floral tattoo is that there are so many to choose from. With thousands of species of flowers out there, you can usually find one that is perfect for the emotion or meaning that you were hoping for.

In addition, the color choice makes a difference in the message you are trying to convey as well so if you are feeling a certain way or would like to invoke characteristics from the flower tattoo, there are a lot to choose from.

In this case, we are going to be talking about one of the more popular floral tattoos in recent history. The hibiscus flower is the winner. The hibiscus is a beautiful flower that happens to have a great deal of meaning all over the world. Much of it depends on who you ask and where they are from, but you are always going to get positive symbolism out of this plant.

In this post, we will go through some information about the hibiscus flower and talk about why it is such a popular choice for a tattoo. We will review the meaning behind the hibiscus flower tattoo and go over some of the different variations of this tattoo. By the end of this article we hope you have a more in-depth understanding of the hibiscus flower and what it means to have the image tattooed on your body.

About the Hibiscus

The hibiscus is also known as the rose mallow and is a member of the mallow family. The are known to grow in warm and tropical regions all over the world and in these places, there are over 200 species of hibiscus.

They grow in sunny spots that have well drained soil. Because the hibiscus is such a beautiful flower, they are generally grown for ornamental reasons. However, they can also be consumed in the human diet, used as a natural dye and be used for cures for certain ailments. There are many species of hibiscus that are endangered and most of them are native to Hawaii.

When describing the hibiscus physically, we start with the way they grow. Depending on what species we are talking about, the hibiscus can grow in the form of a small tree or an evergreen bush.

The leaves of the hibiscus have toothed edges that are lanceolate and are green. In regard to the flower itself, the hibiscus creates a large flower with no scent that is shaped like a trumpet. Each flower will have at least five petals and can be clue, oranges, pink, white, yellow, red or purple in color. Each flower has a pistil and stamen.

The hibiscus is used in different ways all over the world. In China, people use the hibiscus to polish their shoes, so they call it the “shoe flower”. They also use the natural dyes in the flower to dye their hair along with their food. In Polynesia, the people make grass skirts with the bark from the hibiscus tree. In Hawaii and Tahiti, the women wear the hibiscus flower behind their right ear as a way of saying they are ready for marriage and single. The married women wear the flower behind the left ear.

Hibiscus Tattoo Meaning

When deciding on what tattoo to get, it is smart to know the historical meaning of the flower before you get it. Even if you think it’s a beautiful flower, it’s nice to know what it symbolizes. The hibiscus is considered to be a flower worn by women or given to them because of their feminine symbolism. It’s an even more feminine symbol in North American where the hibiscus represents the perfect woman or wife.

In China, the flower can be worn or given by men or women. It symbolizes prosperity, fame, softness and virginity. The Chinese seem to really value this flower for the symbolic reasons and practical ones as well.

In Hawaii, the yellow hibiscus is their state flower. Many people get the hibiscus tattoo as a symbol of respect for the state of Hawaii. In addition, the flower can have multiple additional meanings depending on the color of the flower. As for Hawaii, the yellow hibiscus represents friendship. The red hibiscus symbolizes desire, passion and love. Purple means richness. A blue hibiscus symbolizes a calmness and fertility. A white hibiscus means enlightenment while the pink hibiscus represents rare beauty.

Hibiscus Tattoo Variations

Now when getting the hibiscus tattoo, many things tend to be tattooed with the flower. This can change the meaning of the tattoo or simply reinforce the message that was trying to be conveyed in the first place. Below are a few examples of hibiscus flowers we’ve seen in the past.

Hibiscus and State of Hawaii Tattoo

The hibiscus tattoo with the state of Hawaii in the background is a simple ode to the state of Hawaii. We tend to see many locals with a tattoo like this as Hawaiians have a strong sense of state pride. You will learn really fast how loyal the people of Hawaii are to their home state if you try to talk badly about the state.

Watercolor Hibiscus Tattoo

The watercolor hibiscus tattoo doesn’t necessarily add meaning to the tattoo, but it is a really cool way of doing it and many choose to get this style of tattoo for the hibiscus. The watercolor style is perfect for the color hibiscus tattoo. The hibiscus is a bright, lovely flower that just looks more beautiful when you add the flowing, whimsical style of watercolor to it.

Tribal Hibiscus Tattoo

The tribal hibiscus tattoo is another tattoo that pays homage to the lifestyle of the islanders. Tribal tattooing is extremely popular on the island of Hawaii and other tropical island countries. The tribal tattoo fits perfectly with this because of the background of both tattoos.

But these are just a few examples of the way you can get your own hibiscus tattoo. Just take your time and do your research and by the end, you should have a great hibiscus tattoo all to yourself.

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