Ontario Weeds: Musk mallow
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Excerpt from Publication 505, Ontario Weeds, Order this publication
Table of Contents
- Name
- Other Names
- Family
- General Description
- Stems and Roots
- Leaves
- Flowers and Fruit
- Habitat
- Similar Species
- Related Links
Name: Musk Mallow, Malva moschata
L.,
Other Names: mauve musquée
Family: Mallow Family (Malvaceae)
General Description: Perennial, reproducing
by seed.
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
For more information:
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