Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

Ontario Weeds: Musk mallow

Table of Contents

1. Name
2. Other Names
3. Family
4. General Description
   • Photos and Pictures
5. Stems and Roots
6. Leaves
7. Flowers and Fruit
8. Habitat
9. Similar Species
10. Related Links

Name: Musk Mallow, Malva moschata L.,

Other Names: mauve musquée

Family: Mallow Family (Malvaceae)

General Description: Perennial, reproducing by seed.

Photos and Pictures

Musk mallow. A. Base of plant. B. top of flowering stem. C. Centre of flower showing several thread-like styles and stigmas protruding from the top of the central column of united stamens

Stems & Roots: Stems erect, 40-100cm (16-40in.) high, rough-hairy.

Leaves: Leaves in basal tufts or rosettes and alternate (1 per node) on erect stems; rosette leaves and lowermost stem leaves long-stalked, shallowly lobed and with rounded teeth but never deeply dissected or divided; mid and upper stem leaves long-stalked to short-stalked or stalkles near the top, deeply cut or divided into 5 to 7 major segments, each segment with numerous, irregular, rounded or sharp teeth.

Flowers & Fruit: Flowers in clusters near the ends of the stem and upper branches, and on long stalks form the upper leaves; sepals forming a 5-lobed cup about 1cm (2/5in.) across; petals 5, united near their bases, white to rosy ot pale purple, each one triangular or somewhat heart-shaped, about 2.5cm (1in.) long so the flower is about 5cm (2in.) across; the filaments on the many stamens united into a thin erect column around the several styles and standing like a small peg about 10mm (2/5in.) high in the middle of hte flower; fruit a circle of slightly fused dry sections ("seeds") around a common centre, and usually enclosed by the persistent sepals after the petals fall. Flowers from late June until autumn.

Habitat: Musk mallow, once widely cultivated as an arnamental in perennial flower gardens, has escaped to roadsides, fields and waste places throughout most of southern Ontario.

Similar Species: It is ditinguished by its erect habit, its simple basal leaves and deeply divided stem leaves, its large 5-petaled flowers with many stamens united into a column in the centre of the flower, and its dry fruits arranged in a circle.

Related Links

... on general Weed topics
... on weed identification, order OMAFRA Publication 505: Ontario Weeds
... on weed control, order OMAFRA Publication 75: Guide To Weed Control

| Back to the Ontario Weeds Gallery |