TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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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 5many 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 85:531553; Alverson et al. 1999 Amer J Bot 86:14741486; Bayer et al. 1999 Bot J Linn Soc 129:267303]
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 510, 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 18:196]
Highly variable and difficult, with many local forms; some plants will not key with certainty. Additional work warranted.
Native |
Perennial from generally well developed rhizomes and woody caudex
Stem 1.56 dm, generally hairy; hairs variable
Leaves variable, generally toothed or lobed; upper leaves generally much reduced
Inflorescence dense to open; lowest bracts often leaf-like, divided to base
Flower: calyx 512 mm in flower, generally slightly enlarged in fruit, generally densely stellate and bristly, bristles often on a swollen pad; petals 1020(35) mm, bright to deep pink, generally white-veined
Fruit: segment 2.54 mm, generally coarsely pitted and net-veined (generally more so on sides than back)
Ecology: Common. Generally open, ± dry places in forest or scrub
Elevation: < 2300 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province (except s High Sierra Nevada, Tehachapi Mountain Area, Sacramento Valley)
Distribution outside California: Oregon, Baja California
Highly variable intergrading complex with many local variants
Horticultural information: SUN, DRY or IRR: 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; CVS.
Native |
Stem often trailing and rooting, often 59 dm, sparsely bristly and ± stellate
Leaf coarsely bristly and ± stellate
Inflorescence generally dense, narrow; flowers stiffly erect
Flower: calyx with fine-stellate and longer, generally forked hairs
Fruit: segment 3.54 mm, ± glabrous
Chromosomes: 2n=40
Ecology: Open coastal forest
Elevation: generally < 700 m.
Bioregional distribution: n North Coast (Del Norte, Humboldt cos.)
Distribution outside California: sw Oregon