[Back]

Malvaceae

Flowers: Perfect, actinomorphic; sepals often subtended by bracts (epicalyx); petals distinct, adnate to the staminal tube, stamens many, MONADELPHOUS; anthers unilocular & crescent-shaped; carpels often many, syncarpous; ovary superior, enclosed by staminal tube, many locules and axile ovules

Inflorescences: Flowers solitary or in cymes

Fruits: Schizocarps or capsules (berries)

Habit: Herbs and shrubs, rarely trees; stellate hairs common; often mucilaginous

Leaves: Alternate, simple, often toothed and palmately lobed and veined

Examples:

Abelmoschus esculentus (okra)

Abutilon theophrastii (velvet leaf)

Alcea rosea (hollyhock)

Althaea officinalis (marsh mallow)

Callirhoë (poppy mallow)

Gossypium (cotton)

Hibiscus species (hibiscus)

H. syriacus (rose-of-Sharon)

Iliamna remota (Kankakee mallow)

Napaea dioica (glade mallow)

Note: The Sterculiaceae (chocolate family, Dr. Robertson's favorite family), also includes the cola tree; it is related to the Malvaceae, as are the Bombacaceae (baobab family) and the Tiliaceae (linden family).