The small, widespread, bell-shaped flowers are clustered close to the stalk on short stems from the axils of the leaves. The five petals have notched tips, are white, delicately tinted with pink or pale magenta, and have veinings of a deeper shade. The seed is hard, flat, and rounded, composed of a dozen or more carpels; it is eaten by children with great relish, these being the “cheeses” that give the species one of its common names.
(A) High Mallow (Malva sylvestris) (European) is a tall biennial with a coarse branching stem, often attaining a height of 3 feet, or even more on waste land. Both the stems and the leaves have a thick covering of hair. The flowers grow in clusters of perhaps a half-dozen from the axils of the leaves; they have five heart-shaped petals of a purplish color, with two or three conspicuous veins of a darker shade.
The Mallows get their generic name of Malva, in allusion to the soothing effect of the mucilaginous juices of the root and stem.
(B) Musk Mallow (Malva moschata) (European) is a similar species with the leaves deeply and palmately slashed and toothed. Several hairy branching stems proceed from the perennial root to heights of 1 or 2 feet. The flowers are peculiar in that the ends of each of the five rose-colored petals are roughly notched, looking as though they had been bitten off.
This species received its name from the fact that when the leaves are crushed they give forth a slight odor of musk. It is quite abundant in northern New England and southern Canada.
Rose Mallow (Hibiscus Moscheutos) is a tall, leafy perennial, bearing flowers that easily rank as being among the largest and most beautiful of any of our wild flowers. The stem is quite stout and inclined to be hairy. The large leaves are ovate-pointed and toothed; they are stemmed, and alternate along the main plant stalk. The lower ones are often three-lobed.
The flowers grow on short stems at the end of the upright stalk. But one usually blooms at a time and there are not a great many buds; what they lack in profusion of bloom this species fully makes up in size, for its blossoms measure 4 to 6 inches across. The five large petals are a delicate rose color, conspicuously veined, and often with crimson bases. The long, slender pistil divides at the tip into five flat-headed stigmas; for more than half its length it is encased in the long stamen column, the sides of which are covered with yellow anthers.
The Rose Mallow grows in swamps and marshes near the coast, from Mass. southward, and along the shores of the Great Lakes to Mich. It blooms from July to September.