HALBERD-LEAVED ROSE MALLOW 



Hibiscus militaris Cav. 



Summer In l.itc suiiinicr wlieii the water level nightly falls 



Swamps, ponds in jionds aiid swamps and rivers, and when the tall 



white e_urets i-oine wadiiitr in tlic shallows of the 

 niarshes, the lialherd-leaved mallows hlooni. Early iu the hriuht sununer 

 morning, when the egrets are ])reening and stretehing tlu-ir wings in the 

 tall dead trees l.c-idc thr >\\;un|i hright hirds against a dazzling sky — 

 the wet land helow the roost trees is lull of the newly ojuMied hlossoms 

 of wild mallows. I'^arly in the morning the dew is heavv upon them. 



The plants are tall and fihrous, threi' to six I'eet high. The leaves 

 are altcniato and are. as the name indieates, shajjed like a halhcrd or 

 ])ole-a\; they nw roughly triangidar. The llowers unfurl hroadlv in the 

 early sunlight t>f the summer morning — ])ale. Ilesh-colonnl or j)ale pink 

 llowers, live petaled, with a dark red hloteh d;)\\ii in the hottom of the 

 hell. The stamens are arranged around a eentral column which teiini- 

 nates in five separate stigmas on whidi insects often stop. After the pollen 

 from another llow(>r reaches tlu> j)istil, the flowers are furled again and 

 turn a de(>per pink hefore they fall. The seeds are hairy and are enclosed 

 in an inflated pod which remains on the hush long into the winter. There 

 in the frozen swamp where the cold winds rattle the raveling stalks of 

 the mallows, the pods shake and the small hiown seeds are tln'own into 

 the swamp mud. Some are eaten hy mice and hirds, others are unknow- 

 ingly pickivl up on the feot of wading hirds and nniskrats ne.xt sjjring 

 and are carried to other shores. 'I'heie, during thi^ growing season, new 

 mallow ]ilants grow to extend their ]>opulation through the wet ])]aces. 



The velvety-leaved rose mallow (Hihi.'icus Ioj<iooirpus) has flowers 

 similar to the ahove hut the velvety leaves are heiirt-shai>ed. It is found 

 along muddy shores of streams and ponds in the southern third of the 

 state. 



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