CLASS XVI. ORDER VIII. 277 



302. MALVA. 

 Malva rotundifolia. L. Round leaved Mcdlow. 



Stem prostrate; leaves roundish, heart shaped, ob- 

 tusely five lobed. Fruit stalks bent downward. L, 



Root fusiform. Stems lying upon the ground, branching. 

 Leaves roundish, somewhat reniform, crenate, with five or seven 

 imperfect lobes. Petioles long, hairy. Stipules lanceolate, 

 ciliate. Flower stalks axillary, shorter than the petioles, several 

 together, hairy. Outer leaves of the calyx linear, inner ones 

 ovate. Petals purplish white, deeply emarginate. Fruit flat, 

 with numerous capsules forming its circumference, the stalks 

 commonly deflexed. — In cultivated ground, about houses and 

 side walks. — All summer. 



303. ALTH^A. 



ALTHiEA OFFICINALIS. L. Mctrsh Mallow. 



Leaves downy, oblong, ovate, obtusely three lobed, 

 toothed. Willd. 



This plant grows spontaneously on the marshes at South Bos- 

 ton, and is said to be found at other places on the sea coast. It 

 is probably not originally native, but imported from Europe. 

 Root perennial, long, white. Stem erect, firm, covered with 

 thick, woolly down. Leaves alternate, ovate, with three or 

 more imperfect lobes, toothed, exceedingly downy and velvet- 

 like to the touch. Flowers large, axillary and terminal. Calyx 

 downy. Petals light, purple, inversely heart shaped. The 

 whole plant, especially the root, abounds in mucilage, and is 

 much us^d as a demulcent remedy. — August, September. — 

 Perennial. 



304. HIBISCUS. 



Hibiscus palustris. L. Marsh Hibiscus. 



Stem herbaceous, simple ; leaves ovate, somewhat 

 three lobed, downy underneath ; flowers axillary. 

 Willd. 



A tall, handsome plant. Stem erect, four or five feet high, 

 somewhat downy. Leaves ovate or three lobed, green above, 



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