50 



THE MALLOWS. 



A number of interesting plants are 

 found grouped under the name of the 

 Mallow Family (Malvaceae). They are 

 the common Mallow, a weed of waysides 

 and cultivated grounds ; the Indian Mal 

 low or Velvet-leaf, with its large velvety 

 leaves and yellow flowers, a visitor from 

 India which has escaped from cultivation 

 and become a pest in corn and grain 

 fields and waste places; the Musk Mal 

 low, which has also escaped from our 

 gardens ; the Marsh-Mallow, the root of 

 which abounds in a mucilage that is ex 

 tensively used in the manufacture of con 

 fections ; the Hollyhock of our gardens, 

 which was originally a native of China 

 and the beautiful Rose-Mallow of our 

 illustration. 



The Mallow Family includes about 

 eight hundred species which are widely 

 distributed in the temperate and tropi 

 cal countries. The technical name is 

 from a Greek word having reference to 

 the soothing effect produced by many of 

 the species, when applied to wounded 

 surfaces. 



All are herbs. Most of those found 

 in the United States have been intro 

 duced from Europe and Asia. Only a 

 very few are native, and no one of these 

 is very common. 



The flowers and fruits are all similar in 

 structure to that of the common holly 

 hock. 



The disk-like fruits of the common 

 round leafed Mallow of our dooryards 

 are often called "cheeses" by the children 

 and are frequently gathered and eaten by 

 them. The cotton plant, one of our most 

 important economic plants, is also closely 



related to the Mallow. The Cotton of 

 commerce is the woolly hair of the seeds 

 of this plant which is a native of nearly all 

 tropical countries and is cultivated in 

 temperate regions. 



The beautiful Rose-Mallow has its 

 home in the brackish marshes of the At 

 lantic sea coast. It is also occasionally 

 found on the marshy borders of lakes 

 and rivers of the interior. 



The plants grow to the height of from 

 three to eight feet. The leaves are egg- 

 shaped and the lower ones are three- 

 lobed. The under side of the leaves is 

 covered with fine and soft whitish hairs. 



The flowers, produced in August and 

 September, are large, varying from four 

 to eight inches in diameter, and may be 

 solitary or clustered at the top of the 

 stem. The color of the petals is usually 

 a light rose-pink, but occasionally white, 

 with or without crimson at their bases. 



Neltje Blanchan in "Nature's Garden" 

 speaks of this beautiful plant as follows : 



"Stately ranks of these magnificent 

 flowers, growing among the tall sedges 

 and 'cat-tails' of the marshes, make the 

 most insensate traveler exclaim at their 

 amazing loveliness. To reach them one 

 must don rubber boots and risk sudden 

 seats in the slippery ooze ; nevertheless, 

 with spade in hand to give one support, 

 it is well worth while to seek them out 

 and dig up some roots to transplant to the 

 garden. Here, strange to say, without 

 salt soil or more water than the average 

 garden receives from showers and hose, 

 this handsomest of our wild flowers soon 

 makes itself delightfully at home under 

 cultivation." 



