970 



MALiOrE 



MALVA 



glabrous or pilo?<e: Ivs. entire or ."^-r-ut : fls. usually 

 violet or rosy ; bractlets lar^e, cordate; calyx 5-cut; 

 column of stamen.s divided at the top into filaments. 

 Culture easy. .See Annuals. 



trifida, Cav. Lvs. 3-nerved, li-cut, dentate, glabrous; 

 lobes acuminate : peduncles axillary, 1-Ild. Spain, N. 

 Africa. — Var. grandiEldra, Paxt. (J/. gran<U flora, F. G. 

 Dietr, }, is said to be much superior to the type, with lis. 

 2K-3 in. across, deep rosy red, veined inside darker. 

 Gn.21, p. 145. P.BI. 1:177. M. gramU flora alba is uli^o 

 cult. 



1351. Virginian Stock— Malcomia marittma. 

 Natural size. (See p. 9G9.) 



MALPlGHIA (Marcello Malpighi, 1G28-169:{, distin- 

 guished anatomistatBoLilogne,who wrote on the anatomy 

 of plants). Malpif/ht(}ce(e. About 20 species of smafl 

 trees or shrubs, mostly natives of tropical America, one 

 of which is the Barljadoes Gherry, 31. glabra. The fruit 

 is about the size and shape of a small northern cherry, 

 but inferior in quality. It has an acid taste. It is borne 

 on a shrub, which grows about G ft. high and has handsome 

 crimson fls. of a distinct appearance. The fl. is about 

 % in. across, and the 5 petals have a claw about as long 

 as the fringed blade. This shrub is a native of the West 

 Indies and is cult, in all the Islands as well as S. Amer. 

 It is also offered in S. Fia. 



Malpighias have opposite, short-stalked lvs., glabrous 

 or tomentose, entire or spiny-toothed; tls. axillary, clus- 

 tered or corymbose, rarely solitary, red, rose or white; 

 calyx 5-parted, G-10-glaudular; stamens 10: ovary :-i- 

 celled: .styles 3, distinct: drupe 3-stoned, the stones 

 with or without 3-5 crests or wings on the back. 



glabra, Linn. Barbadoes Gherhv. Lvs. ovate, gla- 

 brous, entire, usually pointed, having a few l)iscuspi- 

 <iate hairs which disappear early : nml)els H-5-tld. : ca- 

 lyx 6-8 glandular: stones obtusely 4-angled, B.M. 813. 



W. M. 



MALUS. See Pi/ms. 



MALVA (old Latin name from Greek malache; refer- 

 ring to the emollient lvs.). Malc(tce(:e. About IG species 

 of herbs, widely scattered, 4 of which are cult, in America 

 and have escaped from old gardens, while one, Ji/. rotnn- 

 (II folia (Fig. 1352), the common Mallow, is a familiar 

 weed. These plants are of the easiest culture, aud bloom 

 all summer and fall, having pink, rose or purple fls. 

 sometimes 2 in. across. Malva is distinguished from 

 numerous allied genera by the carpels in a single whorl: 

 ovules solitary, ascending: bractlets 3, distinct: carpels 

 not beaked or appendaged withia. Malvas are hirsute 

 or nearly glabrous: lvs. angled, lobed or dissected: fls. 

 solitary, in the axils or clustered, sessile or peduncled; 

 petals 5, notched at the apex. In the tirst 2 species the 

 pedicels are solitary in the upper axils; in the next 3 

 they are numerous and clustered. 



A. I'''ls. large and sit oirij, 11-2-3 in. across. 



B. Fruit downy, not wrinkled. 



moscMta, Linn. Musk Mallow. Perennial, 1-2 ft. 

 high, less hairy than 31. Alcea : stem-lvs. 3-many times 

 parted, the lobes being linear: fls. rose or white; calyx 

 with long, simple hairs. Eu.; cult, and escaped. R.H. 

 1851:381. 



BB. Frail glabrous, minnfeli/ wrinJded or vein}/. 



Alcea, Linn. Perennial, 2-4 ft. high : stem-lvs. parted 

 almost to the base into 3-5 divisions, which are again 

 .■1-5-cut, the lobes broad: fls. deep rose; calyx densely 

 stellate-pubescent. Eu.; cult, and escaped. B.M. 2297 

 fpink, veined deeper). —Var. fastigiata, Koch {M. 

 Jiforenii, Pollini). Lvs. less incised; upper stem-lvs. 

 3-fid ; intermediate ones 5-fi.d; lobes oblung, unequally 

 dentate. B.M. 2793. 



EBB. Fruit prominentlij wrinkled-veiny . 



sylv^stris, Linn. Biennial or perennial, 2-3 ft. high, 

 rough-hairy, branching: lvs. rather sharply 5-7-lobed: 

 tls. purple-rose. Eu., temp. Asia, waysides N. Amer. 

 A.G. 13:471. — Not advertised. See M.zebrina in supple- 

 mentary list. Var. Mauriti^na [M. Mauritidna, Linn.) 

 lias long been cult, in cottage gardens abroad as the 

 Tree Mallow. It is taller, smoother and has more 

 obtuse lobes. 



aa. Fls. small, inconspicuous, udiiti.'^li. 



B. Lvs. curled or puckered at the margin. 

 crispa, Linn. Curled Mallow. Unbranched annual, 



4-6 ft. high, leafy from 

 basetotop: lvs. rounded, 

 5-7-lobed or angled: fls. 

 clustered, almost sessile. 

 En.; sparingly esea])ed 

 from old gardens. Gn. 2, 

 p. 315. V i 1 inor in ' s 

 "Vegetable Garden," p. 

 319. — No longer adver- 

 tised, but procurable 

 abroad and still cult, in 

 America. No part of the 

 plant is eaten, but the 

 elegantly crisped leaves 

 are sometimes used for 

 garnishing dishes. Gen- 

 erally self-sows in gar- 

 dens. 



BB. Lvs. not curled at 

 the margins. 



rotundifblia, Linn. Fig. 

 V.\yi. C<:'MM"x Mallow. 

 Stems trailing from a 

 strong, deep root: lvs. 

 rounded kitlney -shaped, 

 crenate; leaf-stalks very 

 long : peduncles rather 

 slender. — Common bien- 

 nial or perennial weed, not cult. The flat wrinkled 

 fruits are known to children as "cheeses." Also locally 

 called "Shirt-button ]>lant." 



1352. Malva rotundifolia (X ' 

 A common -wred, known flf 

 "Cheeses." 



