-Keratan/Cutting cranberry hibiscus -edible flower & leave with sour taste. eaten raw as salad or deep fried. Hibiscus acetosella, the cranberry hibiscus or African rosemallow. The epithet acetosella is of Latin origin and is a diminutive of the Latin name for sorrel which comes from the sour taste experienced when eating the young leaves of both plants. Hibiscus acetosella is also known colloquially as false roselle, maroon mallow, red leaved hibiscus, and red shield hibiscus.