8) 



MALVA CONCINNA. 



{Neat Mallow.) 



LINNEAN SYSTEM. NATURAL ORDER. 



MONADELPHIA POLYANDRIA. MALVACEAE. — {BfOWIH.) 



GENERIC CHARACTER. 



Malva (Linn.) Calyx cinctus involucro 3-phyllo, rarius 5-6-phyllo, braeteolis oblongis 

 setaceisve. Carpella capsularia plurima in orbem disposita. 



Calyx surrounded with an involucrum of three leaves, rarely 5 or 6-leaved, bracteolse 

 oblong, or bristle-shaped. Carpels capsule-like, numerous, arranged in a circle. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTER. 



M. concinna ; fruticosa, subglabra ; foliis petiolatis ovatis vel ovato-lanceolatis basi cordi- 

 formibus crenatis obtusis ; floribus longe pedicellatis axillaribus corymboso-capitatis. 



Shrubby, nearly smooth ; leaves petiolate, ovate, or ovate-lanceolate, heart-shaped at the base, 

 notched, obtuse ; flowers longly pedicellate, axillary, disposed in corymbose heads. 



Dbscr. — A shrub, about five feet high, branched, nearly smooth and round. Leaves petiolate, 

 five-veined, ovate cordate, or lanceolate obtuse, notched, notches angular, acute, petioles shorter 

 than the leaves. Stipules minute. Flowers arising from the axils of the leaves pale purple, 

 congested into a dense head of about eight flowers, longly pedicellate, equal to half the length of 

 the peduncle and leaf. Petals lanceolate, notched. Calycine segments ovate, acute, covered 

 with stiffish hairs. Involucrum linear, placed between the divisions of the calyx. 



This Malva (which we think well merits the specific name we have given to it) 

 was raised from seeds received by Mrs. Charles Shaw, of Birmingham, from 

 South America, in the year 1835, which she presented to the Birmingham 

 Botanical and Horticultural Society, in which establishment it flowered this 

 spring. It will form a pleasing addition to that already numerous genus ; and 

 the delicacy of its flowers and foliage will no doubt recommend it to the notice of 

 cultivators. It is kept in a stove, under which treatment it looks healthy, and 

 flowers freely. It should be potted in loam and peat, and may be readily increased 

 by cuttings of the young wood, which root readily in bottom heat. 



The natural order, Malvaceae, is not so extensive as many others. It contains 

 only twenty-three genera, but amongst those are contained some of the most 

 showy, and some of the most valuable in a commercial point of view. Amongst 

 "vol. i. M 



