Malva

Herbs, annual, biennial, or perennial, subshrubs, or shrubs, glabrous or hairy, hairs stellate or simple. Stems erect, ascending, or trailing. Leaves: stipules persistent or deciduous, linear, lanceolate, triangular, or ovate to ± falcate; blade orbiculate or reniform, unlobed or palmately 3–7(–9)-lobed or divided, base cordate to truncate, margins crenate to dentate. Inflorescences usually axillary, flowers usually in fascicles, sometimes solitary, sometimes terminal racemes; involucel present, bractlets persistent, 3, distinct or basally connate (or recurved pedicel), not inflated, oblate-discoid, usually depressed in center, around broad axis, without persistent swollen style base, ± indurate, glabrous or hairy; mericarps 6–15(–20), drying tan or brown, 1-celled, wedge-shaped (triangular in cross section), oblong to reniform, beak or cusp absent, sides thin and papery or thicker, margins usually edged, apex rounded, indehiscent. Seeds 1 per mericarp, adherent to mericarp wall, usually not readily separated from it, reniform-rounded, notched, glabrous. x = 21.

Water sparingly, allowing the mix to nearly dry out between watering.

Malva

Malva

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