Malva L.

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Malva L.

Descripción

Herbaceous plants, trailing, ascending, or erect, glabrous or pubescent. Leaves long-petiolate, the blades orbicular or reniform in outline, more or less palmately 5- 7-lobed, sometimes deeply dissected, lacking foliar nectaries; stipules sessile, asymmetrically ovate, usually ciliate, persistent. Flowers solitary or fasciculate in the leaf axils, sometimes grouped in terminal inflorescences; involucellar bracts (2-) 3, distinct, subulate or foliaceous; calyx 5-lobed, often accrescent and spreading in fruit; petals usually purple, sometimes white, emarginate or with a prominent apical notch; androecium included, antheriferous at apex; styles §-15, filiform, the stigmatic surface introrsely decurrent. Fruits schizocarpic, oblate, pubescent or glabrous; mericarps (in ours) 8-15, indehiscent, dorsally more or less reticulate, 1-seeded. Base chromosome number: x = 21.A

Discusión taxonómica

Malva is a genus of more than 100 species from Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. A few species have been introduced into the Americas and become naturalized, some as weeds, some as garden ornamentals. Five species occur in Mexico.A

Bibliografía

A. Fryxell, P. A. 1988: Malvaceae of Mexico. – Syst. Bot. Monogr. 25: 1-522