Vou. II.] MALLOW FAMILY. 415 
Family 74. MALVACEAE Neck. Act. Acad. Theod. 2: 488. 1770. 
MALLOW FAMILy. 
Herbs or shrubs (sometimes trees in tropical regions), with alternate mostly 
palmately-veined leaves. Stipules small, deciduous. Flowers regular, perfect, 
often large, rarely dioecious or polygamous. Sepals 5 (rarely 3 or 4), more or less 
united, usually valvate; calyx often bracted at the base. Petals 5, hypogynous, 
convolute, often contorted. Stamens «, hypogynous, monadelphous, forming 
a central column around the pistil, united with the bases of the petals; anthers 
1-celled. Ovary several-celled, entire or lobed; styles united below, distinct 
above, and generally projecting beyond the stamen-column, mostly as many as 
the cells of the ovary; ovules 1 or several in each cavity. Fruit capsular (rarely 
a berry), several-celled, the carpels falling away entire or else loculicidally de- 
hiscent. Seeds reniform, globose or obovoid; embryo curved; cotyledons large, 
plicate or conduplicate; endosperm little, or copious. 
About 4o genera and 800 species, widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions. 
Stamen-column anther-bearing at the summit. 
Carpels 1-seeded. 
Flowers perfect. 
Involucels of 6-9 bractlets. 
Involucels of 1-3 bractlets, or none. 
Stigmas linear, on the inner side of the style-branches. 
Carpels beakless; petals obcordate. 2. 
Carpels beaked; petals truncate. 3 
Stigmas capitate, terminal. 
Seed ascending. 5. Malvastrum. 
Seed pendulous. 6. Sida. 
Flowers dioecious. 4. Napaea. 
7 
8 
9 
. Althaea, 
cl 
. Malva. 
. Callirrhoé. 
Carpels 2-several-seeded. 
Involucel none. 
Involucel of 3 bractlets. 
Carpels continuous. 
Carpels septate between the seeds. 
Stamen-column anther-bearing below the entire or 5-toothed summit. 
Carpels 1-seeded. 10. Kosteletzkya. 
Carpels several-seeded. 11. Atbiscus. 
. Abutilon. 
. Sphaeralcea. 
. Modiola, 
1. ALTHAEA L, Sp. Pl. 686. 1753. 
Tomentose or pilose herbs, with lobed or divided leaves, and axillary or terminal, solitary 
or racemose, perfect flowers. Involucels of 6-9 bractlets united at the base. Calyx 5-cleft. 
Petals 5. Stamen-column anther-bearing at the summit. Cavities of the ovary numerous, 
t-oyuled; style-branches the same number as the ovary-cavities, stigmatic along the inner 
side; carpels numerous, indehiscent, 1-seeded, arranged in a circle around the axis. Seed 
ascending. [Ancient Greek, signifying to cure. ] 
About 15 species, natives of the temperate and 
warm parts of the Old World. 
1. Althaea officinalis IL. Marsh-Mal- 
low. Wymote. (Fig. 2414.) 
Althaea officinalis ¥,. Sp. Pl. 686. 1753. 
Perennial, herbaceous, erect, 2°-4° high, 
branching, densely velvety pubescent. Leaves 
broadly ovate, acute or obtuse, dentate and gen- 
erally 3-lobed, the lower ones often cordate; 
veins elevated on the lower surfaces; petioles 
¥4/-1’ long; flowers in terminal and axillary 
narrow racemes, pink, about 1/-114’ broad; 
bractlets of the involucels 6-9, linear, shorter 
than the 5 ovate-lanceolate acute calyx-seg- 
ments; carpels 15-20, tomentose. 
In salt marshes, coast of Massachusetts and 
New York. Reported from New Jersey. Natural- 
izedfrom Europe. Roots thick, very mucilaginous, 
used in confectionery, and in medicine as a demul- 
cent. Summer. 
