36 MALVAfcE^:. [Maha. 



wings of the calyx ovate, about as long as the corolla ; stems 

 simple, herbaceous, procumbent, leaves linear-lanceolate. Br. 

 FL l.p.j}.7, E. FL v. iii.p. 259. E. Dot. t. 76. 



Dry hilly pastures, frequent. Fl. June, July. %. — Stems four to 

 eight inches long. Corolla beautifully crested, blue, purple, pink or 

 white. Sepals persistent, enclosing the fruit. 



Ord. 11. MALVACEAE. Br. Mallow Family. 



Sepals 5, rarely 3 or 4, more or less combined at the base, 

 with a valvate aestivation, often bearing bracteas forming an in- 

 volucre and resembling an outer calyx. Petals 5, equal, alter- 

 nate with the sepals, with a twisted aestivation, often adnate at 

 their base with the base of the staminal tube. Stamens 5 or in- 

 definite ; filaments united into a tube, unequal ; anthers 1-celled, 

 reniform, opening transversely. Ovary composed of many car- 

 pels or combined, placed around a common axis, distinct : styles 

 as many as there are carpels, distinct or united ; stigmas equal 

 in number with the carpels, distinct or united. Carpels distinct 

 or united into a many-celled capsule, each 1 — 2-or many-seeded, 

 opening opposite the dissepiments or between them. Seeds 

 sometimes villous; embryo curved; cotyledons folded. — Herbs, 

 shrubs or trees, mostly inhabiting warm and hot regions. Leaves al- 

 ternate, petiolate, toothed, or lobed, often clothed with a stellated pu- 

 bescence. Stipules two to each leaf, often deciduous. Peduncles 

 usually axillary. 



Our indigenous species afford abundance of mucilage, and 

 are employed for fomentations and cataplasing. 



1. Malva. Linn. Mallow. 



Styles numerous. Calyx double ; ext. of 3 sepals. Capsules nu- 

 merous, circularly arranged, 1-seeded. — Name ; altered from 

 fiaXaxn, soft, in allusion to the emollient nature of the species. 



Monadelphia. Polyandria. 



1. M. sylvestris, Linn. Common Mallow. Stem erect, her- 

 baceous ; ieaves with 7 rather acute lobes ; peduncles and pe- 

 tioles hairy. Br. FL 1. p. 31 4. E. Fl. v. iii. p. 244. E. Bot. t. 

 671. 



Waste places and way-sides, frequent. Fl. June — Aug. %. — Stem 

 two to three feet high, branched. Flowers large, three or four toge- 

 ther, axillary. Petals large, obcordate, purplish rose-colour, with 

 deeper veins (rarely white) combined by the base of their claws. 

 Whole plant, especially the fruit, mucilaginous and emollient ; and 

 has hence a place in the Materia Medica. 



2. M. rotundifolia, Linn. Dwarf Mallow. Stem prostrate; 

 leaves roundish-cordate 5-lobed ; fruitstalks bent down. Br. 

 Fl. 1. p. 314. E.Fl. v. ii .p. 246. E. Bot.t. 1092. 



