COMMON AND ROUND-LEAVED MALLOW

Scientific Name: Malva neglecta Wallr. (common mallow), Malva pusilla Sm. (round-leaved mallow)

Other Names

Common Mallow	Round-leaved Mallow
Mauve négligé Cheeses Garden mallow Round-leaved mallow Amours	Mauve à feuilles rondes Cheeses Garden mallow Mauve très grèle Malva rotundifolia L.

Family: Mallow Family (Malvaceae)

General Description: Annual, biennial or short-lived perennial, reproducing only by seed.

Habitat: Common mallow occurs throughout southern Ontario in pastures, meadows, waste places, roadsides and cultivated land. It is especially common in the Manitoulin Islands and the east-central portions of southern Ontario, but it seems to be increasing in most other portions of the province as well. Round-leaved mallow occurs throughout most of Ontario in similar habitats but is not as abundant as Common mallow.

Stems

Common Mallow	Round-leaved Mallow
Much-branched, Erect or trailing on the ground with upturned ends, Hairy, 10-60 cm (4-24 in.) long, From a stout taproot.	Very similar to Common mallow.

Leaves

Common Mallow	Round-leaved Mallow
Alternate (1 per node), Long-stalked, Blades rounded or kidney-shaped with a deep heart-shaped base, Shallowly lobed and toothed, Stipules: Green to purplish or brownish, Triangular, 2.5-6 mm (1/10-1/4 in.) long.	Very similar to Common mallow.

Flowers

Common Mallow	Round-leaved Mallow
In axils of leaves, Sepals 5, in a ring, Petals 5, white to pinkish or lilac, 1-1.5 cm(2/5-3/5 in.) across and with a column or stamens in the centre covering the pistil, Flowers from June to late autumn.	Small flowers with petals only about 6 mm (1/4 in.) long, Flowers at about the same time as Common mallow.

Fruit

Common Mallow	Round-leaved Mallow
A circle of about 12 to 14 dry sections (“seeds”), Each section having flat sides but being rounded on its back, Very finely hairy, Containing 1 dark brown seed.	Very similar to Common mallow, Back of each “seed” section flat, rather than round, and covered with a network of fine ridges and depressions.

Often Confused With
Creeping Charlie - Common mallow is distinguished by its low stature, its rounded to kidney-shaped leaves, its flowers 1-1.5cm (2/5-3/5in.) across with a central column of stamens and the individual sections in the ring of fruits rounded and not prominently veined.

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GRAPEs

COMMON AND ROUND-LEAVED MALLOW