Class
Family
Genus
Classification
Nomenclature
Scientific Name:
Malvaviscus arboreus Cav. (1787)
Synonymy:
- = Hibiscus malvaviscus L., Sp. Pl. 694 (1753)
Vernacular Name(s):
Sleepy mallow; Turk's-cap; Wax mallow
Description
Spreading shrub to 2–(3) m high, often spreading vegetatively by layering. Stems densely clothed in stellate hairs. Lvs densely clothed in stellate hairs, velvety to touch, ovate to suborbicular, cordate, acute to acuminate, not lobed or shallowly 3-lobed, crenate-serrate, c. 5–15 cm long; petioles c. 2–12 cm long; stipules lanceolate, 3–8 mm long, deciduous. Fls axillary, solitary or few in fascicles; pedicels 10–30 mm long; epicalyx segments 7–9, linear, united for lower ?-1/4, somewhat < or ± = calyx; calyx tubular, clothed in stellate hairs; calyx teeth ciliate, triangular, much < tube; petals scarlet, 20–35 mm long. Fr. fleshy, red, 1–3 cm diam.
[From: Webb et al. (1988) Flora of New Zealand. Volume 4.]
Biostatus
Exotic
Phenology
Flowering: Jun.–Feb.
Bibliography
Linnaeus, C. 1753: Species Plantarum. Impensis Laurentii Salvii, Stockholm.
Turner, B.L.; Mendenhall, M.G. 1993: A revision of Malvaviscus (Malvaceae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 80(2): 439–457.
Wilcox, M.; Bradshaw, C.; Cameron, E. 2004: Woody plants of the Auckland Domain. Auckland Botanical Society Journal 59(1): 44–56.
