Wild Flowers East of the Rockies 203 



ROSE MALLOW (Hibiscus Moscheutos) is a tall, 

 leafy perennial, bearing flowers that easily rank as 

 being among the largest and most beautiful of any of 

 our wild flowers. The stem is quite stout and inclin- 

 ed to be hairy. The large leaves are ovate-pointed 

 and toothed; they are stemmed, and alternate along 

 the main plant stalk. The lower ones are often three- 

 lobed. 



The flowers grow on short stems at the end of the 

 upright stalk. But one usually blooms at a time 

 and there are not a great many buds; what they lack 

 in profusion of bloom, this species fully makes up in 

 size, for its blossoms measure four to six inches 

 across. The five, large petals, are a delicate rose 

 color, conspicuously veined, and often with crimson 

 bases. The long, slender pistil divides at the tip, in- 

 to five flat-headed stigmas; for more than half its 

 length, it is encased in the long stamen column, the 

 sides of which are covered with yellow anthers. 



The Rose Mallow grows in swamps and marshes 

 near the coast, from Mass., southwards, and along 

 the shores of the Great Lakes to Mich. It blooms 

 from July to September. 



For twenty years a small colony of perhaps half a 

 dozen of the beautiful plants grew in a certain swamp 

 near Narragansett Bay in R. I. They were so sur- 

 rounded by bogs that it was very difficult to reach 

 them, but finally they were found by summer visitors 

 and the plants, root and all, removed bodily. Such 

 is the fate of our beautiful flowers. 



MARSH MALLOW (Althea officialis) is a species 

 that has been introduced from Europe and is found in 

 some of the salt marshes near the coast. The leaves 

 are downy, three-lobed, toothed and stout-stemmed. 

 The hollyhock-like flowers are in small clusters from 

 the angles of the leaves. The thick root furnishes 

 material for confectionery. 



