What Flowers Have 5 Petals?

• Many different types of flowers have five petals. Kristin Reuber/Photodisc/Getty Images

  The petals of a flower are the delicate colored membranes that bloom from the buds at a specific time of year. Flower petals typically surround a flower's reproductive parts, which are found in the center of the flower. Insects and birds are attracted to the flower by the petals' color and scent. As these insects and birds go from flower to flower, feeding on nectar and collecting pollen, they carry pollen from male flowers and deposit it in female flowers, where it fertilizes the ovules. A number of plant flowers produce five petals, and this can help you to identify the plant.

Hibiscus

• The hibiscus is a tropical plant that is native to the southeastern United States, including North Carolina and South Carolina. A number of varieties of hibiscus plants grow natively in the U.S., and all produce colorful flowers in mid- to late summer. The flowers produced by hibiscus plants are typically large, and many varieties of the plant, including the secret swamp hibiscus and the rose mallow hibiscus, feature five petals. The secret swamp hibiscus and rose mallow are perennial plants that die back during the winter and begin new growth in the spring. Most hibiscus flowers are white, pink or red.

The Golden Rain Tree

• The golden rain tree grows in Florida and is deciduous, meaning that its leaves die away in the fall and regrow in the spring. Three varieties of the tree grow in Florida. Two of the varieties of the golden rain tree produce flowers with four petals, but one variety, bougainvillea golden rain tree, also known as the Chinese flame tree, produces flowers with five petals. The trees grow to a height of up to 40 feet, and in September, the yellow flowers emerge and cover the entire canopy of the tree. As the flowers die away, the yellow petals fall to the ground in great numbers, giving the golden rain tree its name.

Carolina Spring Beauty

• The Carolina spring beauty is a wildflower native to the United States. It grows in the eastern states and eastern Canada, down to, but not including, Florida. The plant has an early blooming season, and produces flowers in March through to the end of May. The flowers appear as solitary blossoms at the end of single stalks, and consist of five white oval petals, with pink stripes running from the top to the bottom.

The Wild Rose

• The wild rose is a shrub that is native to the United States and is found in western states such as Utah. The shrub is a perennial plant, meaning that it grows back each year from the same root system without needing to be reseeded or replanted. The flowers have five petals, and blooms appear in May, continuing through to July. The flowers of the wild rose can be white or various shades of pink.