Malva Alcea
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''Malva alcea'', commonly known as the greater musk-mallow, cut-leaved mallow, vervain mallow or hollyhock mallow, is a plant in the
mallow family Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include cacao, cola, cotton, okra, roselle and durian. There are also some genera co ...
native to southwestern, central and eastern
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
and southwestern
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, from
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
north to southern
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
and east to
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
and
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
.Flora Europaea
''Malva alcea''
/ref>Med-Checklist
''Malva alcea''
/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''.


Description

It is a
herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...
perennial plant In horticulture, the term perennial (''wikt:per-#Prefix, per-'' + ''wikt:-ennial#Suffix, -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annual plant, annuals and biennial plant, biennials. It has thus been d ...
growing to 50–125 cm tall, with stems covered in stellate hairs, meaning they branch at the free end into several strands. The
leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...
are 2–8 cm long and 2–8 cm broad, palmately lobed with five to seven blunt lobes; basal leaves on the lower stem are very shallowly lobed, those higher on the stems are deeply divided, with digitate finger-like lobes. The
flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...
s appear singly near the apex of
corymb Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...
ose
raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...
s growing from the leaf axils in summer to early fall. They are 3.5–6 cm diameter, with five
sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...
s and five bright pink
petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
s, and have no scent. The bracteoles that make up the epicalyx are ovate and wide at the base where they are fused with the
calyx CALYX, Inc. is a non-profit publisher of art and literature by women founded in 1976 based in Corvallis, Oregon. CALYX publishes both '' CALYX, A Journal of Art and Literature by Women'' twice a year and CALYX Books, which publishes one to three ...
. The
fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...
is a hairless disc-shaped
schizocarp A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. There are different definitions: * Any Dry fruits, dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more ...
4–8 mm diameter, containing several
seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...
s, the seeds individually enclosed in a glabrous or hairy
mericarp A schizocarp is a dry fruit that, when mature, splits up into mericarps. There are different definitions: * Any dry fruit composed of multiple carpels that separate. : Under this definition the mericarps can contain one or more seeds (the ...
. It has a
chromosome A chromosome is a package of DNA containing part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes, the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with nucleosome-forming packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells, the most import ...
count of 2n=84. Schmeil, O., Fitschen, J., & Seybold, S. (2006). ''Flora von Deutschland'', 93. Auflage. p. 422. Quelle & Meyer Verlag, Wiebelsheim. .Flora of NW Europe
''Malva alcea''
/ref>Malvaceae Pages
Musk Mallows (section Bismalva)
/ref>


Subspecies

Two subspecies are accepted. *''Malva alcea'' subsp. ''alcea'' – southern Sweden to southern and eastern Europe and northern Turkey *''Malva alcea'' subsp. ''ribifolia'' (synonym ''Malva ribifolia'' ) – Corsica


Gallery


Ecology

It is most common in drier soils in thickets, along paths and in waste places.
Natural hybrid In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different varieties, subspecies, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Generally, it means that each cell has genetic material from two dif ...
s with the closely related ''
Malva moschata ''Malva moschata'', the musk mallow or musk-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Malvaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to the British Isles and Poland, and east to southern Russia an ...
'' are occasionally found. In central Europe it grows at altitudes of up to 2,000 m.


Cultivation and uses

It has been widely grown outside of its native range as an
ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...
. Several
cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...
s exist such as 'Fastigata', an upright form, and 'Alba', a white flowered form. In some areas, such as the northeastern
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, the plant has escaped from cultivation and become
naturalised Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-national of a country acquires the nationality of that country after birth. The definition of naturalization by the International Organization for Migration of the ...
. It is very similar to, and often confused with ''Malva moschata''.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .


Synonyms of subsp. ''alcea''

Some synonyms of subsp. ''alcea'' include: *''Malva abulensis'' *''Malva bismalva'' *''Malva fastigiata'' *''Malva italica'' *''Malva lagascae'' *''Malva lobata'' *''Malva morenii''


References


External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q162805
alcea ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...
Flora of Asia Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus