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A large shrub or multi-stemmed tree in the Malvaceae family, this plant has broad green foliage and showy flowers. Its leaves drop in the winter leaving unremarkable thin stems behind, but when the leaves emerge in the summer, softly hairy leaves impart a coarse texture that gives the plant a distinctive eye-catching appeal. The flowers open white and change color over a three-day period until they are deep pink and then as they die assume a dark "blue-pink" hue. Flowers of three distinct colors appear on the shrub simultaneously. Single and double-flowered varieties are available, both having quite large blossoms that are 3-5 in (8 - 13 cm) across. After flowering a round, hairy capsule forms that dries and releases fuzzy seeds, a trait that inspired one of the plants common names, rose cotton, as the buds resemble the boll of that famous member of the hibiscus family.