A very pretty desert plant, from six to eight inches tall, the coloring of the flowers, stems, and leaves vivid and oddly contrasting, for the stems are bright red and hairy, and the leaves stiff, hairy, and bronze-green in color, while the lovely globe-shaped flowers, which are over an inch across, are delicately shaded from lilac to rose outside and paler inside, with conspicuous round blotches of orange-vermilion at the base of each petal within. The calyx and buds are very hairy, the petals each have a twist to one side, and the mauve stamens form a pretty cluster in the center. These flowers last a long time in water, closing at night and opening again in the morning.
Spotted Mallow—Malvastrum rotundifolium.
Checker-bloom—S. malvaeflora.
Mallow—Sidalcea Neo-Mexicana.
False Mallow
Malvástrum Thúrberi
Pink
Spring, summer
California
A handsome shrub, from five to ten feet high, woody below, with long, slender, wandlike branches and thick, very downy, light bluish-green leaves. The pretty lilac-pink flowers are from one to nearly two inches across and pleasantly scented, and the foliage is soft and pretty in appearance, though rather harsh to the touch, its pale tones blending harmoniously with the delicate blossoms. This is common in southern California.
There are several kinds of Lavatera, mostly from the Old World.
Tree Mallow
Lavàtera assurgentiflòra
Pink
Spring
California