82 



MALVA CONCINNA. 



the most showy may be mentioned the common Hollyhock and Hibiscus, a 

 splendid species of which we figured in our sixth number. The Gossipium, or 

 Cotton Plant, is cultivated in India and other places to a great extent, and from 

 the cottony envelope of the seed is obtained the raw material for the manufacture 

 of cotton goods. The fibres of Malvaceous plants have also been manufactured 

 into cordage, and used for the same purposes as rope. The medicinal properties 

 peculiar to this order are for the most part demulcent, the different genera 

 affording more or less mucilage. The genus Malva was once much extolled by 

 old practitioners, but is now nearly discarded. 



This natural order is readily distinguished by the stamens being joined into a 

 tube, and the ovarium composed of many carpels, arranged in a circle around an 

 axis. This will be well understood by an examination of the common Hollyhock. 



The generic name is derived from //,aAa<ro-co (Malasso), to soften, and the 

 specific name from Concinnus, neat. 



Fig. 1, corolla; 2, calyx, with the 3-leaved involucrum ; 3, monadelphous 

 stamens ; 4, seed-vessels, styles and stigmas. 



