XVIII.' MALVACEAE. 85 



celled ovary and fruit ; in Pavonia and some others there are twice as 

 many style-branches as ovaries. 



Exterior bracts united at the base into an involucre or outer calyx. 



Involucre 3-lobed 1. Lavatera. 



Involucre of 5 or more divisions 3. Althaea. 



Exterior bracts 3, distinct from each other, inserted on the calyx . 2. Malva. 



Among Malvacece, grown in our gardens and belonging to exotic 

 genera, the most frequently to be met with are species of Malope, Hibiscus, 

 or Abutilon, 



I. LAVATERA. LAVATERA. 



Involucre 3-lobed, often larger than the 5-lobed calyx. Ovary and 

 fruit of Malva. 



A genus of very few species, from the Mediterranean region, western 

 Asia, southern Africa, and Australia. 



1. L. arborea, Linn. (fig. 195). Tree Mallow. — Stem woody at the 

 base, w T ith thick, hard, annual flowering branches, forming an under 

 shrub, 1 to 4 or 5 feet high. Leaves on long stalks, the lower ones 

 broadly orbicular, palmately divided into 5 to 9 broad, short, crenate 

 lobes, and softly downy on both sides, rarely nearly glabrous. Flowers 

 numerous, of the size of those of Malva sylvestris, of a pale purple-red, 

 on short pedicels, collected into clusters, forming a long terminal raceme 

 or narrow panicle. Involucre divided to below the middle into 3 broad 

 leaf -like lobes. 



On maritime rocks, in south-western Europe, from Greece, west- 

 wards to the British Isles, where it is very local, chiefly on the south 

 and west coasts of England and Ireland, and in the Firths of Forth and 

 Clyde. Fl. summer. 



L. Olbia, a south European species, often cultivated in our gardens, 

 has appeared along the sides of a new embankment in Epping Forest, 

 and may occasionally sow itself in other parts of England. [L. cretica, 

 Linn., a Mediterranean species, is naturalised in waste places near 

 Penzance, and in the Scilly Isles. It closely resembles Malva sylvestris.] 



II. MALVA. MALLOW. 



Involucre of 3 small distinct bracts, inserted on the lower part of the 

 calyx. Calyx divided to near the middle into 5 broad lobes. Style- 

 branches 10 or more, subulate. Carpels as many, arranged in a ring 

 round a thickish axis, and separating from it when ripe, each one con- 

 taining a single seed. 



A rather numerous genus, widely dispersed over Europe, northern 

 and central Asia, North America, and South Africa. 



Stem decumbent or prostrate. Petals not above twice as long 



as the calyx l. M. rotundifolia. 



Stem erect or ascending. Petals 3 or 4 times the length of the calyx. 

 Leaves with short, broad lobes, not reaching to the middle. 



Flowers in axillary clusters 2. M. sylvestris. 



Leaves deeply cut into narrow lobes. Flowers crowded at the 



summits of the branches 3. M. moschata. 



The tall tree mallow (M. mauritiana) from the Mediterranean, and the 



