Mallow

Mallow, common name for various members of a family of herbs, shrubs, and some trees, and for the family itself. The family comprises about 116 genera and 1,600 species, including some well-known plants such as the hollyhock, the marsh mallow, flowering maples, and hibiscus. Cotton and the vegetable okra are also members of the mallow family.

The family is characterized by the presence of star-shaped hairs on the plants and leaves that are spirally arranged. The flowers have five sepals and five petals. Outside the whorl of sepals is an additional whorl of sepal-like segments, called the epicalyx. The numerous stamens have their filaments (stalks) fused together to form a tube. The fruit is usually a schizocarp—a structure which breaks up at maturity into several one-seeded segments, or sometimes a capsule, a berry, or winged fruit.

Most plants with the name “mallow” belong to the representative genus. Examples include the common mallow and the musk mallow, both common wild plants of Britain and Europe. Others include the marsh mallow, a plant of marshy ground around British coasts, and tree mallow, another coastal species of the Mediterranean and Atlantic parts of Europe, including Britain. The hollyhock is a Chinese member of the family much grown in gardens. Hibiscus is a genus of tropical and subtropical plants sometimes referred to as the rose mallows. Many species are grown as ornamentals in warm regions.

Scientific classification: Mallows make up the genus Malva of the family Malvaceae. Common mallow is classified as Malva sylvestris; musk mallow as Malva moschata. The marsh mallow is classified as Althaea officinalis; the tree mallow as Lavatora arborea; the hollyhock as Alcea rosea. Hibiscus makes up the genus Hibiscus, and flowering maple belongs to the genus Abutilon. Okra is classified as Abelmoschus esculentus. Cotton belongs to the genus Gossypium.