| TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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Jepson Interchange (more information) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Annual, perennial herb, shrubs, trees, generally stellate-hairy; juice sticky; inner bark tough, fibrous
Leaves alternate, simple, petioled; blade generally palmately veined or lobed, stipules present
Inflorescence often leafy; whorl or involucre of bractlets often subtending calyx
Flower generally bisexual, radial; calyx lobes 5, margins abutting in bud; petals 5, free (fused at base to filament tube, so falling together); stamens many, filaments fused into a tube surrounding style, tube fused in turn to petal bases; pistil 1, ovary superior, chambers generally 5 or more, style branches, stigmas generally 1 or 2 X as many as chambers
Fruit of 5–many disk- or wedge-shaped segments, loculicidal capsule, or berry
Genera in family: 100 genera, 2000 species: worldwide, especially warm regions; some cultivated (e.g., Abelmoschus , okra; Alcea ; Gossypium , cotton; Hibiscus , Malvaviscus )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Sterculiaceae [Angiosperm phylogeny Group 1998 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 85:531–553; Alverson et al. 1999 Amer J Bot 86:1474–1486; Bayer et al. 1999 Bot J Linn Soc 129:267–303]
Mature fruit important for identification.
Annual, perennial herb, sometimes from long, creeping rhizomes
Stem generally erect or base ± decumbent
Leaves generally mostly from near stem base; lowest blades generally crenate to shallowly lobed, upper blades generally deeply lobed (generally ± compound)
Inflorescence generally spike- or panicle-like, generally more open in fruit; bracts at pedicel base 2, generally stipule-like; bractlets subtending calyx generally 0(–3)
Flower: calyx lobes = or > tube; petals purple or rose-pink to white; stamen-tube with generally 2 series of ± fused filaments near tip; stigmas linear, on inner side of style branches
Fruit: segments generally 5–10, indehiscent, generally ± beaked, walls thin
Seed 1 per fruit segment
Species in genus: ± 25 species: w North America
Etymology: (Greek: combination of 2 names for mallow)
Reference: [Hitchcock 1957 Univ Wash Publ Biol 18:1–96]
Highly variable and difficult, with many local forms; some plants will not key with certainty. Additional work warranted.
| Native |
Perennial from woody caudex
Stem 2–8 dm, coarsely and generally densely stellate-canescent
Leaves ± evenly arrayed on stem; blade often fan-shaped, generally wider than long, coarsely crenate to generally shallowly lobed
Inflorescence: racemes many, dense or open; bractlets 3, 2–7 mm
Flower: calyx lobes 9–18 mm; petals 12–25 mm, pale pink to pink-lavender
Fruit: segment 2–2.5 mm, generally smooth to slightly wrinkled, beakless
Ecology: Chaparral, open conifer forest, sometimes on serpentine
Elevation: 50–2200 m.
Bioregional distribution: s North Coast, n Central Coast, Outer South Coast Ranges, w Western Transverse Ranges, San Bernardino Mountains.
| Native |
Leaves: upper blades fan-shaped, deeply 5–7-lobed, ± compound, segments crenate
Inflorescence: bracts ± = calyx, lanceolate to widely so; bractlets ± = calyx
Ecology: Closed-cone-conifer forest, generally on serpentine
Elevation: 600–800 m.
Bioregional distribution: Outer South Coast Ranges (near Cuesta Pass, San Luis Obispo Co.)Horticultural information: In cultivation.