GLADE MALLOW 

 Napaea dioica L. 



June A iiympli of tlic frlades, said the botanist who 



Along railroads and nniiuHl tliis rare mallow Xapaea. because in Greek 



in woods (hat is literally what the name means. The glade 



mallow, however, does not always live in the 

 sandy woodland glades and hollows, as it may in some other part^ of the 

 country. In north-central Illinois it has been iVnind inhabitating the wide- 

 ui)en country along ci-rtain railroad tracks. 



Glade mallow is a tall, rough ish plant with very large leaves and 

 very small flowers. 'V\\\> is a reversjil of the connnon mallow procedure 

 whieli usually features large ilowers to which the leaves are somewhat 

 suboidinated. Kut in Xa])aea. the leaves come to the fore and are more 

 handsome, ]>erbaps. than the blossoms themselves. The leaves are broad 

 and deeply loothed and lobed. much in the manner of a silver maple leaf. 

 The Ilowers a|)pear in spreading ilu>teis at the ends of the stems, and 

 are small, five-pe tailed, white, a tew Jlowi'rs among a great many buds 

 in various stages of developnuMit. 



In spite of the Tact tbat glade mallow often grows along railroad 

 tracks, it is almost as well loiuealed in these haunts as it would be in 

 some forest glade. Few ))eople pause to examine the population of plants 

 growing in the cindeiy ballast or the old ])rairie soil along the tracks. 

 Perhaps if more such localities were explored for lloweis. tlio glade 

 inallow might not be listed as one of the rarest plants in Illinois. 



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