| 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 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, shrubs, trees
Inflorescence: flowers generally solitary in axils; bractlets subtending calyx 3–many, slender, persistent, forming an involucre
Flower generally showy; filament tube 5-toothed, anthers scattered on upper 1/2 below tip
Fruit: capsule; chambers 5
Seeds 2–many per chamber
Species in genus: 200 species: warm regions
Etymology: (Greek: name used by Dioscorides for marshmallow)
Reference: [Fryxell 1980 Techn Bull USDA 1624:1–53]
| Introduced |
Annual, bristly-hairy
Stem 3–6 dm, erect; some branches prostrate
Leaf: blade 2–3 cm wide, 3–5-lobed, coarsely toothed
Flower: calyx fused ± to tip, 5- ridged or -winged, veiny, inflated and papery in fruit; petals ± 2 cm, yellow, base purple-black
Fruit 1.5–2 cm, < or = calyx
Seed sparsely hairy
Ecology: Uncommon. Disturbed places
Elevation: generally < 100 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: native to Europe, c Africa
Widespread weed.