MALLOW FAMILY 157 



and stamens 5 each. Fruit a 2-celled purple berry, edible but 

 with large seeds. 



The Wild Grape climbs by means of its tendrils to con- 

 siderable heights on the trees of Hetch Hetchy Valley and 

 our lower canons, where the odor of its foliage fills the air 

 with a delightful fragrance on warm days. In the Yosemite 

 Valley it occurs sparingly along the base of the north wall, 

 this being its uppermost limit. 



MALVACEAE. Mallow Family. 

 Herbs, pubescent with branching hairs. Leaves alternate, 

 simple, palmately veined and lobed or toothed, with slender 

 stipules at base of petiole. Flowers regular. Calyx-lobes and 

 petals 5 each. Stamens numerous, united into a tube around 

 the pistil. Capsule breaking at maturity into several 1-seeded 

 parts. 



Annual weeds with pale flowers 1. Malva. 



Perennials with showy flowers 2. Sidalcea. 



1. MA'LVA. Mallow. 

 Leaves rounded, long-petioled. Calyx with 3 bractlets near 

 base. Flowers small, whitish or rose-color. All of the 3 

 species to be expected are annual weeds. M. rotundifolia L., 

 is known by its nearly prostrate habit. M. parviflora L., is 

 erect, robust, the calyx-lobes widely spreading under the 

 fruits (often called "cheeses"). M. pusilla Sm., is similar but 

 with calyx-lobes closed over the fruits. 



2. SIDALCEA. 



Perennial herbs with rounded toothed leaves and showy 

 pinkish flowers in terminal racemes or spikes. Calyx usually 

 without bractlets. 



Flowers in an open raceme. 



Stems and petioles rough with very short hairs 1. S. asprella. 



Stems and petioles smooth 2. 5. glaucescens. 



Stems and petioles long-hairy 3. S. reptans. 



Flowers in a dense spike; petioles long-hairy 4. 3". spicata. 



1. S. asprella Greene. Stems 1 to 3 ft. high, rough with 

 short hairs. Leaves l /z to 4 in. across, the lower obtusely 

 toothed or lobed, the upper parted into entire or toothed 

 lobes. Flowers purplish, J / 2 to 1 in. long, distinctly pediceled, 

 in an open raceme. (S. montana Congdon.) 



This plant with its numerous, long-petioled leaves and 

 several stems from a perennial root may be expected any- 

 where in the Yellow Pine Belt, where it grows with the next 



