Flora of North America species comparison

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Malvella leprosa

alkali sida, alkali-mallow, dollar-weed, oreja de ratón, scurfy sida, white-weed
Stems

prostrate, indument mixture of stellate and appressed, sublepidote hairs.
Leaves

petiole 1/2–1 times as long as blade;

blade ± reniform, 1–3.5 cm, wider than long, base obliquely truncate, margins serrate, apex obtuse or subacute, surfaces densely hairy, hairs appressed, sublepidote and stellate.
Pedicels

long, subequal to subtending petiole;

involucellar bractlets 3, inconspicuous, filiform, or 0.
Flowers

calyx 8–10 mm, with mixture of stellate and appressed sublepidote hairs, lobes ovate, bases not plicate-overlapping, apex acuminate;

petals pale yellow, sometimes with rose flush on fading, asymmetric, 12–15 mm;

stamens pallid, glabrous, staminal column antheriferous at apex;

style 7–10-branched, pallid, glabrous.
Schizocarps

7 mm diam. 2n = 22, 32.

Malvella leprosa
Phenology Flowering year-round in warmer areas.
Habitat Heavy, saline soil
Elevation 800–1500 m (2600–4900 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; KS; NM; NV; OK; OR; TX; UT; WA; Mexico (Baja California, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora); South America (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Malvella leprosa is possibly introduced in Colorado. The species is considered to be a noxious weed in Arizona and California and increasing as saline soils increase.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 302.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Malvella
Sibling taxa
M. lepidota, M. sagittifolia
Synonyms Malva leprosa, Disella hederacea, M. hederacea, M. sulphurea, Malvastrum sulphureum, Sida hederacea, S. leprosa, S. sulphurea
Name authority (Ortega) Krapovickas: Bonplandia (Corrientes) 3: 59. (1970)
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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