Red Sorrel is a species of hibiscus native to India and South-East Asia, and now cultivated world over. It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to 2–2.5 m tall. The leaves are deeply three- to five-lobed, 8–15 cm long, arranged alternately on the stems. The flowers are 8–10 cm in diameter, pink with a dark red spot at the base of each petal, and have a stout fleshy sepal cup at the base, 1.5–2 cm wide, enlarging to 3–3.5 cm, fleshy and bright red as the fruit matures. It is an annual plant, and takes about six months to mature. The red calyces of the plant are increasingly exported to America and Europe, where they are used as food colourings.