MALVACEA. 83 HIBISCUS. 



The child sportively calls them cheeses, a name which their form very natu- 

 rally suggests. Jn. — Oct. Per. Low Mallow. 



2. M. silve'stris. 



6Yfm erect; leaves^ — 7-lobed, sub-acute ; pedvncles ^ndpetiolcsheLiry. Na- 

 tive of England. A popular garden flower of the easiest culture, often spring- 

 ing up spontaneously. Hight 3 feet. Flowers reddish purple, with veins of 

 a darker hue. The whole plant, especially the root, abounds in mucilage. 

 Jn. — Oct. Per. High Mallow. 



3. M. Mauritia NA. 



Stem erect ; haves .5-lobed, blunt; pedicels and petioles smoothish, or downy 

 on the upper side. From S. Europe. A tall species, 4 — 6 feet high. Stem 

 smooth. Flowers purple, with deeper colored veins. Ann. 



Ivij'lcaved Mallow. 



4. M. Moscha'ta. 



Stem erect; radical /fares reniform, cut ; cauline ones many- parted ; seg- 

 ments \mQa.T ; steins a.nd Old ijxes hairy. Native of Britain. i5tems2 feet high, 

 branched. Flowers large and handsome, rose-colored. The whole herb gives 

 out a musk-like odor in favorable weather. Jl. Musk Mallow. 



4. HIBI'SCUS. 

 Calyx surrounded by a many-leaved involucel ; stignnas 5 ; 

 capsules 5-celled ; cells many-seeded. 



One of the Greek names of the Mallow. 



1. H. MoSCHEU'tOS. L. H. palustris. 



S'fem herbaceous, sunple, erect ; leaves ovate, dentate, subtrilobate, hoary- 

 tomentose beneath; peduncles long, axillary, or connected with the petiole. 

 A tall, showy plant, found on the borders of salt marshes, salt springs, river 

 banks^ &c. 1 gathered a flowering specimen at Salina, N. Y., in August. 

 The stem is without a branch, round, downy, 4 feet high. Leaves 3 or 4 

 inches lonff, 2 or 3 broad, often with two small, lateral lobes, green above, 

 downy white beneath. Flowers larger than those of the Hollyhock, rose-col- 

 ored. Peduncles distinct from the petiole, although in some specimens it ia 

 found articulated to it, and geniculated above the middle. Outer calyx in 

 many segments > inner in .5. The bark yields a strong, hemp-like fibre, which 

 might make good cordage. Aug. Per. Marsh Hibiscus. 



2. H. VlRGl'iMCUS. 



Leaves acuminate, unequally dentate, lower ones cordate, undivided, upper 

 ones oblong-cordate, 3-lobed ; peduncles axillary and in terminal racemes; 

 flowers nodding; pistils dcclinate. The whole plant downy, rough, about 3 

 feet high. Found on Long Island and in the Middle States, as well as the 

 Southern, growing near the coasts. Flowers red. Aug. Per. 



Virginian Hibiscus. 



3. H. SPECIo'riUS. 



Very smooth; /t'wres palmate, 5-parted ; /o6c5 lanceolate, acuminate, subser- 

 rate at the end ; capsules ovate, smooth. A splendid, showy plant, abundant 

 in moist soils in Carolina, is raised from see4s in our gardens, but hardly en- 

 dures the N. England climate. Root perennial, stem herbaceous, 5 — y feet 



