Malva thuringiaca

Malva thuringiaca (previously known as Lavatera thuringiaca), the garden tree-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family Malvaceae, native to eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from southern Germany south to Italy, and east to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.[1][2]

Malva thuringiaca
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Malva
Species:
M. thuringiaca
Binomial name
Malva thuringiaca
’Barnsley’, a cultivar of L. × clementii

It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 1.8 m tall. The leaves are up to 9 cm long and broad, palmately lobed with three or five lobes, and downy with greyish hairs. The flowers are pink, 3–6 cm diameter, with five petals; they are produced throughout the summer.[1][3][4][5]

There are two subspecies:[1][2]

  • Malva thuringiaca subsp. thuringiaca – Most of the species' range, except as below, Upper leaves bluntly lobed
  • Malva thuringiaca subsp. ambigua (DC.) Valdés – southern France, Italy, western Balkans, Upper leaves acutely lobed

Garden plants

Most of the popular shrubby garden cultivars traditionally listed under this species are actually hybrids between it and Malva olbia; these hybrids are now named Malva × clementii.[1] The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-[6]

  • 'Bredon Springs'[7]
  • 'Burgundy Wine'[8]
  • 'Candy Floss'[9]
  • 'Rosea'[10]

References
  1. Malvaceae Pages: Herbaceous Lavateras
  2. Flora Europaea: Lavatera thuringiaca
  3. Blamey, M. & Grey-Wilson, C. (1989). Flora of Britain and Northern Europe. ISBN 0-340-40170-2
  4. Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan ISBN 0-333-47494-5.
  5. Könemann (2004). Botanica. The Illustrated AZ of over 10000 garden plants and how to cultivate them. ISBN 3-8331-1253-0
  6. "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 59. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  7. "RHS Plant Selector - Lavatera x clementii 'Bredon Springs'". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  8. "RHS Plant Selector - Lavatera x clementii 'Burgundy Wine'". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  9. "RHS Plant Selector - Lavatera x clementii 'Candy Floss'". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  10. "RHS Plant Selector - Lavatera x clementii 'Rosea'". Retrieved 2 October 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.