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''Malva moschata'', the musk mallow or musk-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to the British Isles and Poland, and east to southern Russia and Turkey.Flora Europaea
''Malva moschata''
/ref>Med-Checklist
''Malva moschata''
/ref>Flora of NW Europe
''Malva moschata''
/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Growing to tall, it is a
The flowers are usually pollinated by bees.
''Malva moschata'' is widely grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive scented flowers, produced for a long period through the summer. Several cultivars have been selected for variation in flower colour, including 'Rosea' with dark pink flowers.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .Malva Pages
Musk Mallows (section Bismalva)
/ref> Leaves and flowers of muskmallow are common additions to "wild" salads. The seeds are also edible. It has been introduced to and become
Medical Uses, applications
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157920 moschata Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
''Malva moschata''
/ref>Med-Checklist
''Malva moschata''
/ref>Flora of NW Europe
''Malva moschata''
/ref>Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). ''Flora of Britain and Northern Europe''. Growing to tall, 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 t ...
perennial with hairy stems and foliage, and pink saucer-shaped flowers in summer.
Description
The leaves are alternate, 2–8 cm long and 2–8 cm broad, palmately lobed with five to seven lobes; basal leaves on the lower stem are very shallowly lobed, those higher on the stems are deeply divided, with narrow, acuminate lobes. The flowers are produced in clusters in the leaf axils, each flower 3.2–5 cm in diameter, with five bright pink petals with a truncated to notched apex; they have a distinctive musky odour. The fruit is a disc-shaped schizocarp 3–6 mm in diameter, containing 10–16 seeds, the seeds individually enclosed in americarp
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 m ...
covered in whitish hairs. It has a chromosome count of 2''n''=42.
Ecology
It occurs on dry, but fertile soils at altitudes from sea level up to . Natural hybrids with the closely related ''Malva alcea
''Malva alcea'' (greater musk-mallow, cut-leaved mallow, vervain mallow or hollyhock mallow) is a plant in the Malvaceae, mallow family native to southwestern, central and eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to southern Sweden ...
'' are occasionally found.
The flowers are usually pollinated by bees.
Cultivation and uses
''Malva moschata'' is widely grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive scented flowers, produced for a long period through the summer. Several cultivars have been selected for variation in flower colour, including 'Rosea' with dark pink flowers.Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan .Malva PagesMusk Mallows (section Bismalva)
/ref> Leaves and flowers of muskmallow are common additions to "wild" salads. The seeds are also edible. It has been introduced to and become
naturalised
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
in several areas with temperate climates away from its native range, including Scandinavia, New Zealand, and North America.
References
External links
* * *Medical Uses, applications
{{Taxonbar, from=Q157920 moschata Flora of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus