Malvacece Malope. 79 



ORDER XXII. MALVACE^. 



An extensive and very distinct order of herbs, shrubs, or 

 rarely trees, with stellate hairs, alternate stipulate leaves, and 

 usually showy flowers. Flowers regular, usually furnished with 

 a bracteate involucel. Sepals 5, more or less united at the 

 base, valvate in bud. Petals 5, often oblique, twisted in bud. 

 Stamens many ; filaments combined into a tube ; anthers 1- 

 celled. Disk small, sometimes growing up between the car- 

 pels. Carpels numerous, usually whorled, free or combined, 

 1 - or more seeded. Seeds reniform, obovoid or sub-globose, 

 often hairy, with little or no albumen. All the species are 

 harmless, and many mucilaginous. Cotton is the produce of a 

 member of this family. The species occur in all parts of the 

 world except the very coldest. 



1. MALOPE. 



Hairy or glabrous annuals or biennials. Leaves entire or 

 trifid. Involucel of 3 large distinct cordate bracts. Calyx 

 5-lobed, persistent. Carpels 1 -seeded, irregularly clustered. 

 Three species, natives of the Mediterranean region. The name 

 is said to be derived from //,a\os-, woolly. 



1 . M. trifida. A showy plant, about 3 feet high, with rather 

 small somewhat trilobed dentate leaves and rosy purple or 

 white flowers. M. grandiflora of gardens is a variety of this 

 plant, or rather perhaps the selfsame thing. 



2. M. malacoldes. A prostrate branching hairy biennial. 

 Leaves petiolate, oblong-ovate, crenate or pinnatifid, cuneate 

 or cordate at the base. Flowers axillary, large, rosy pink tinged 

 with purple ; peduncles 1-flowered. A very handsome plant. 



2. KITAIBELIA. 



Differing from the last genus in having an involucel of 6 to 

 9 connate bracts. Only one species is known, a native of 

 Hungary. A commemorative name. 



1. K. vitifolia. A tall plant with angular 5-lobed leaves. 

 Involucel exceeding the calyx. Flowers pedunculate in the 

 axils of the upper leaves, large, showy, white or rose, produced 

 all the Summer. 



