Sida cordifolia |
Sida hermaphrodita |
|
---|---|---|
bala, country mallow, flannel weed, great-leaf sida, heart-leaf sida, ilima |
Virginia fanpetals, Virginia mallow |
|
Habit | Subshrubs or shrubs, to 1.5 m. | Herbs, perennial, 1–2.5(–5) m. |
Stems | erect, stellate-tomentose. |
erect, minutely stellate-hairy when young, soon glabrate. |
Leaves | 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. |
stipules free from petiole, linear-lanceolate, 3–4 mm, shorter than petiole; petiole to 0.9 mm, shorter than blade, glabrous; blade palmately 5–7-lobed, maplelike, to 24 cm, ± as long as wide, smaller upward, base cordate, margins serrate, apex long-acuminate, surfaces glabrous. |
Inflorescences | axillary, usually subsessile, crowded panicles or corymbs, sometimes solitary flowers. |
axillary, subumbellate, 2–10-flowered pedunculate corymbs, forming terminal panicles. |
Pedicels | 0.2–0.4 cm, enlarging slightly in fruit, shorter than calyx. |
|
Flowers | 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. |
calyx dark-pigmented basally, unribbed, not angulate, 4–5 mm, minutely stellate-hairy, lobes wide-triangular; petals white, 8–10 mm; staminal column hairy; style 8-branched. |
Schizocarps | 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). |
subconic, 6–8 mm diam., minutely stellate-hairy; mericarps 8, not reticulate, apex beaked. |
2n | = 28. |
= 28. |
Sida cordifolia |
Sida hermaphrodita |
|
Phenology | Flowering year-round. | Flowering late summer. |
Habitat | Disturbed sites, savannas, open shrublands, pinelands | Along streams, roadsides, railroad embankments, disturbed sites |
Elevation | 0–300 m (0–1000 ft) | 50–200 m (200–700 ft) |
Distribution |
AL; FL; TX; Asia [Introduced in North America; introduced also in Mexico, West Indies, Central America, South America, Africa, Australia]
|
DC; IN; KY; MD; MI; OH; PA; VA; WV; ON |
Discussion | 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.) |
Some occurrences of Sida hermaphrodita may be the result of escapes from cultivation. It is generally rare except locally common along the Kanawha and Ohio rivers in Ohio and West Virginia (D. M. Spooner et al. 1985); it has been extirpated from Tennessee. Reports from Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York refer to garden escapes. The species may or may not be native in Michigan. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 313. | FNA vol. 6, p. 315. |
Parent taxa | Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sida | Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sida |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. althaeifolia, S. pellita | Napaea hermaphrodita |
Name authority | Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 2: 684. (1753) | (Linnaeus) Rusby: Mem. Torrey Bot. Club 5: 223. (1894) |
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