FLORA OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. 203 



Stamen column anther-bearing below the summit; fruit a 5-celled capsule. 



4. HIBISCUS. 

 Stamen column anther-bearing at the summit only; fruit composed of 5-many carpels 

 arranged in a circle and separating at maturity. 

 Carpels of the fruit dehiscent, 2-several-seeded; leaves entire, velvety-hairy. 



3. ABUTILON. 

 Carpels indehiscenfe, 1-seeded; leaves serrate or dentate, glabrous or pubescent, but 

 not velvety. 



Bractlets none at the base of the calyx; corolla yellow or white 2. SIDA. 



Bractlets 3 at the base of the calyx; corolla white, blue, or purjolish. 



1. MALVA. 

 1. MALVA L. 



Plants erect; petals 2-4 times as long as the calyx, purple 1. M. sylvestris. 



Plants prostrate; petals about twice as long as the calyx, lavender or bluish. 



2. M. rotundiiolia. 



1. Malva sylvestris L. High mallow. 

 Waste places and along roadsides; Georgetown and the upper Potomac. May-July. 



Adventive from Eur. 



2. Malva rotundifolia L. Cheeses. 

 Waste ground; frequent. May-Aug. Naturalized from Eur. and western Asia; 



widely distributed as a weed in temperate regions. 



Malva crispa L., curled mallow, has been collected at Tennallytown; adventive 

 from Eur. M. moschata L., musk mallow, also native of Eur., has been found as a waif 

 in waste ground. 



2. SIDA L. 



Leaves linear or lanceolate, not lobed", flowers yellow, solitary in the axils, or in short- 



slalked axillary clusters of 2 or 3 1. S. spinosa. 



Leaves palmately lobed; flowers white, in long-stalked axillary clusters. 



2. S. hermaphrodita. 



1. Sida spinosa L. False mallow. 

 Waste places and fields. July-Sept. Eastern U. S. to tropical Amer. 



2. Sida hermaphrodita (L.) Rusby. Virginia mallow. 

 Along the Potomac, in rocky places, Plummers Island to Long Bridge. July- 

 Sept. Eastern U. S. {S. napaea Cav.) 



3. ABTJTILON Mill. 



1. Abutilon theophrasti Medic. Velvet-leaf. 



Waste places and fields; common. July-Aug. Naturalized from southern Asia. 

 {A. abutilon Rusby; A. avicennae Gaertn.) 



4. HIBISCUS L. 



Hibiscus esculentus L., okra, has been found as a waif in waste ground; also H. 

 trionum L., flower-of-an-hour, an annual with a bladdery -inflated calyx. 



Plants shrubby 1. H. syriacus. 



Plants herbaceous. 

 Leaves glabrous on both sides, lobed at base or halberd-shaped; flowers pink. 



2. H. militarls. 



Leaves white-pubescent beneath, lanceolate or ovate; flowers cream-colored, with 



crimson eye 3. H. palustrls. 



1. Hibiscus syriacus L. Shrubby althaea. Rose of Sharon. 



An ornamental shrub, native of Asia, cultivated in gardens; often escaping to 

 vacant lots and waste ground. July-Sept. 



Flowers white, rose, or lilac, with a deep rose-colored eye. 



