The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

mauve musquée, musk-mallow

tree mallow

Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.3–1.3 m, hairs usually spreading, simple, sometimes stellate-hairy distally. Herbs, biennial or perennial, or subshrubs, 1–3 m, stellate-tomentose.
Stems

erect to ascending, sparsely hirsute proximally, stellate-hairy distally.

erect, base usually woody.

Leaves

stipules persistent, linear to narrowly oblong-lanceolate, 3–8 × 2–3 mm;

petioles of proximal leaf blades 3 times as long as blade, reduced to 1/2 blade length distally, mid-stem petioles 2 times as long as blade, hairs simple;

distal blades usually round to reniform, deeply 5–7-lobed, lobes acutely 2-pinnatifid, 2–6 × 5–6 cm, base deeply cordate, margins irregularly toothed, apex rounded, obtuse, or acute, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs simple or stellate.

stipules deciduous, ovate, 4–5 × 2–3 mm, papery, apex acute to obtuse, sparsely stellate-hairy and ciliate;

petiole longer than blade;

blade rounded, shallowly and unequally 5–7(–9)-lobed (lobes obtuse), 5–20 × 5–20 cm, base cordate, margins crenate, apex obtuse to rounded, surfaces densely soft stellate-hairy especially abaxially.

Inflorescences

axillary, flowers solitary or in fascicles, often appearing short-racemose or subumbellate terminally, long-stalked.

axillary, flowers in fascicles.

Pedicels

(0.5–)0.8–2.5 cm, to 10–35 cm in fruit, hairs simple;

involucellar bractlets distinct, not adnate to calyx, linear to narrowly oblanceolate or elliptic, 5 × 1–1.5 mm, to 7–8 mm in fruit, length 1/2 calyx, margins entire, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hirsute and long-ciliate.

jointed distally, 0.5–1 cm, not much longer in fruit;

involucellar bractlets connate in proximal 1/3, adnate to calyx, lobes broadly ovate to round, 8 × 5–6 mm, longer than calyx, margins entire, apex acute or obtuse, surfaces stellate-hairy.

Flowers

calyx reticulate-veined, 6–8 mm, to 15 mm in fruit, outer surface hairy, hairs both simple and stellate;

petals bright pink to pale purple or white, 20–35 mm, length 2.5–3 times calyx;

staminal column 7–8(–10) mm, glabrate;

style 11–15-branched;

stigmas 11–15.

calyx 3–4 mm, not much enlarged in fruit, densely stellate-canescent;

petals rose to lavender with 5 darker veins, dark purple basally, 15–20 mm, length 4–5 times calyx, apex emarginate;

staminal column 8–10 mm, glabrous proximally, stellate-hairy distally;

anthers purplish;

style (6–)8(or 9)-branched;

stigmas (6–)8(or 9).

Seeds

1.2–1.5 mm.

dark brown, 3 mm.

Schizocarps

9–11 mm diam.;

mericarps 11–15, black, 1.5–2 mm, apical face and margins rounded, sides thin and papery, smooth, surfaces densely hirsute at least apically.

8–10 mm diam.;

mericarps (6–)8(or 9), 4–5 mm, margins sharp-angled, apical surface and sides ridged, surfaces glabrous or hairy.

2n

= 42.

= 36, 40, 42, 44.

Malva moschata

Malva arborea

Phenology Flowering May–Oct. Flowering Apr–May(–Sep).
Habitat Disturbed areas, roadsides Disturbed areas, coastal bluffs, dunes
Elevation 0–1300 m (0–4300 ft) 0–200 m (0–700 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CT; DC; DE; ID; IL; IN; KY; MA; MD; ME; MI; MO; MT; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OH; OR; PA; RI; TN; VA; VT; WA; WI; WV; WY; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC; Europe; sw Asia (Turkey); n Africa [Introduced in North America; introduced also in South America (Chile), Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR; Europe; Pacific Islands (New Zealand); Australia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico (Baja California), Africa (Libya), Atlantic Islands (Canary Islands)]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Malva moschata is native from Spain to the British Isles, Poland, southern Russia, and Turkey. It has become naturalized in North America, especially in temperate northern and coastal areas. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental and frequently escapes. It occasionally hybridizes with M. sylvestris (Malva ×inodora Ponert) and M. alcea (Malva ×intermedia Boreau). It is similar to M. alcea, from which it can be distinguished by its narrower involucellar bractlets and densely hirsute mericarps.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Malva arborea is infrequently cultivated as a garden ornamental. It is traditionally placed in Lavatera and has three prominent, spreading, rounded, earlike involucellar bractlets and inconspicuous sepals.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 289. FNA vol. 6, p. 288.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Malva Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Malva
Sibling taxa
M. alcea, M. arborea, M. assurgentiflora, M. neglecta, M. nicaeensis, M. parviflora, M. pseudolavatera, M. pusilla, M. sylvestris, M. verticillata
M. alcea, M. assurgentiflora, M. moschata, M. neglecta, M. nicaeensis, M. parviflora, M. pseudolavatera, M. pusilla, M. sylvestris, M. verticillata
Synonyms Lavatera arborea
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 690. (1753) (Linnaeus) Webb & Berthelot: Hist. Nat. Îles Canaries 3(2,1): 30. (1836)
Web links