Scientific Family
Malvaceae
Synonyms
Malva rotundifolia
Other common names
roundleaf mallow
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Introduced
Lifecycle
Annual
Height
Spreading to 16 inches
Riparian
No
Light pink or white flowers are clustered in the axils of dark green leaves. The plant is generally spreading to 16 inches wide. Introduced from Europe, now naturalized.
Herbaceous annual, stems trailing and hairy. Leaves alternate and slightly hairy, round. Flowers in small axillary clusters, pink or white, petals twice as long as the sepals, claws bearded, carpels smooth on the back.
Habitat
Roadsides, fields and disturbed places.
Plant Community
Disturbed Areas
Low elevation
3500
High elevation
7500
Flower Characteristics
5-petaled, cup-shaped light pink or white flowers; petals often striped with pale violet lines along their length. The flowers borne in groups of 2 to 6 in leaf axils.
Flower color
Light pink or white
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Rounded
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Dark green leaves are rounded with weakly lobed margins, up to 2 inches wide.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf shape
Round or oval
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Disk shaped with up to 15 segments.
Fruit type
Other