Sida ciliaris
Sida cordifolia
bract fanpetals, bract or fringe or salmon sida, bract sida, huinar
bala, country mallow, flannel weed, great-leaf sida, heart-leaf sida, ilima
usually crowded at stem apex;
stipules partially adnate to petiole, 1-veined, linear to oblanceolate, 4–12 mm, usually longer than petiole;
petiole 2–10 mm, 1/4–1/2 length of blade, with appressed stellate hairs;
blade narrowly elliptic, 1–2 cm, usually 2–3 times longer than wide, base truncate to subcordate, margins dentate apically, entire basally, apex acute or obtuse, surfaces stellate-hairy abaxially, glabrous adaxially.
stipules free from petiole, 1-veined, linear, 5–8 mm, shorter than petiole;
petiole 10–25 mm, to 1/2 length of blade, stellate-tomentose;
blade broadly cordate to ovate-lanceolate, to 6 cm, reduced distally, 1–2 times longer than wide, base cordate, margins dentate to base, apex acute, surfaces softly velvety-tomentose.
terminal, subsessile, usually 1–10-flowered, flowers crowded at branch apices because of shortening of internodes, obscurely solitary, axillary.
axillary, usually subsessile, crowded panicles or corymbs, sometimes solitary flowers.
adnate to petiole of leaflike bract, 0.1–0.4 cm, shorter than calyx.
0.2–0.4 cm, enlarging slightly in fruit, shorter than calyx.
calyx obscurely angulate, 4–6 mm, hirsute, lobes ovate;
petals usually salmon-pink, red-orange, sometimes yellowish, 5–11 mm;
staminal column hairy;
style 5–8-branched.
calyx prominently ribbed, 6–7 mm, densely stellate-tomentose, lobes ovate;
petals yellow-orange, often with darker reddish base, 8–11 mm;
staminal column hairy;
style 8–14-branched.
conic, 5–6 mm diam., subglabrous;
mericarps 5–8, prominently muricate, otherwise glabrous.
oblate-conic, 6–7 mm diam., apically hairy;
mericarps 8–14, 4–5 mm, dorsally smooth, apex spined, spines to 2 mm, retrorsely barbed (variably developed, rarely suppressed).
= 16.
= 28.
Sida ciliaris
Sida cordifolia
Sida ciliaris is found in Broward and Miami-Dade counties and the Florida Keys and in central and southern Texas. The stems can be procumbent but not distinctly mat-forming, and they are often ascending, not flexible, and tufted. The flowers are sometimes described as being salmon-colored; that feature, the congested terminal leaves and flowers, and the adnate stipules are quite distinctive.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
A velvety-tomentose herb sometimes used in herbal medicines, Sida cordifolia is believed to have originated in India, but has been widely spread in warmer regions globally. In many areas it is considered to be an invasive weed. There is considerable variation in the flower color patterns; the velvety-tomentose indument and retrorsely barbed, relatively large or conspicuous spines can help in identification.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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