Flora of North America species comparison

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Alcea rosea

common hollyhock, holly hock, rose trémière
Habit Plants 1–2.5+ m, roughly stellate-hairy to hirsute.
Leaves

stipules ovate, 8 mm, apically 3-lobed;

petiole equaling or longer than blade;

blade suborbiculate to 5–7-angled or shallowly triangular-lobed, sometimes more deeply channeled and winged dorsally, 6–8 mm.
Seeds

tuberculate or not, often minutely hairy.
2n

= 42.

Alcea rosea
Phenology Flowering May–Oct; fruiting Jun–Oct.
Habitat Disturbed sites, roadsides, vacant lots
Elevation 0–3000 m (0–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; CT; DC; DE; GA; IA; ID; IL; IN; KS; KY; MA; MD; MI; MN; MO; MS; MT; NC; ND; NE; NJ; NM; NV; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; SD; TN; TX; UT; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; NB; ON; QC; Asia (China) [Introduced in North America; introduced also nearly worldwide]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Alcea rosea is a showy and popular ornamental that is essentially cosmopolitan in cultivation. The species is thought to have originated in the southwestern provinces of China but is apparently not known in the wild. It occasionally escapes and naturalizes in disturbed temperate areas nearly worldwide. However, it is often difficult to determine if a given specimen was cultivated or an established adventive. Plants with more deeply lobed leaves and rose-pink flowers have been called A. ficifolia; plants in cultivation under this name are most likely a mix of A. rosea and A. rugosa or of hybrid origin.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 228.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Alcea
Sibling taxa
A. rugosa
Synonyms A. ficifolia, A. glabrata, Althaea ficifolia, A. mexicana, A. rosea, A. rosea var. sinensis, A. sinensis
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 687. (1753)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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