''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familia ...

, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, belongs to a different genus.

Description

Hollyhocks are annual, biennial, or

perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

s usually taking an erect, unbranched form. The herbage usually has a coating of star-shaped hairs. The leaf blades are often lobed or toothed, and are borne on long petioles. The flowers may be solitary or arranged in fascicles or racemes. The notched petals are usually over three centimeters wide and may be pink, white, purple, or yellow. The fruit is a schizocarp, a dry disc divided into over 15 sections that contain seeds.

Species

The following species are accepted: *'' Alcea abchazica'' Iljin *'' Alcea acaulis'' (Cav.) Alef. *'' Alcea afghanica'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea antoninae'' Iljin *'' Alcea apterocarpa'' (Fenzl) Boiss. *'' Alcea arbelensis'' Boiss. & Hausskn. *'' Alcea assadii'' Pakravan *''

Alcea aucheri ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' (Boiss.) Alef. *'' Alcea baldshuanica'' (Bornm.) Iljin *'' Alcea biennis'' Winterl *'' Alcea calvertii'' (Boiss.) Boiss. *'' Alcea chrysantha'' (Sam.) Zohary *'' Alcea damascena'' (Mouterde) Mouterde *''

Alcea denudata ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' Boiss. *''

Alcea digitata ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' (Boiss.) Alef. *''

Alcea dissecta ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' (Baker f.) Zohary *''

Alcea djahromi ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' Parsa *''

Alcea excubita ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' Iljin *''

Alcea fasciculiflora ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' Zohary *''

Alcea ficifolia ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' L. – Antwerp hollyhock *''

Alcea flavovirens ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' (Boiss. & Buhse) Iljin *'' Alcea freyniana'' Iljin *'' Alcea froloviana'' (Litv.) Iljin *'' Alcea galilaea'' Zohary *'' Alcea ghahremanii'' Pakravan & Assadi *'' Alcea gorganica'' (Rech.f., Aellen & Esfand.) Zohary *'' Alcea heldreichii'' (Boiss.) Boiss. *'' Alcea hohenackeri'' Boiss. *'' Alcea hyrcana'' Grossh. *'' Alcea ilamica'' Pakravan *'' Alcea iranshahrii'' Pakravan, Ghahr. & Assadi *'' Alcea karakalensis'' Freyn *'' Alcea karsiana'' (Bordz.) Litv. *'' Alcea koelzii'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea kopetdaghensis'' Iljin *'' Alcea kuhsanguia'' Parsa *'' Alcea kurdica'' (Schltdl.) Alef. *'' Alcea kusjariensis'' (Iljin ex Grossh.) Iljin *'' Alcea lasiocalycina'' Boiss. *'' Alcea lavateriflora'' (DC.) Boiss. *'' Alcea lenkoranica'' Iljin *'' Alcea litvinovii'' (Iljin) Iljin *'' Alcea loftusii'' (Baker f.) Zohary *'' Alcea longipedicellata'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea mazandaranica'' Pakravan & Ghahr. *'' Alcea mosulensis'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea mozaffarianii'' Ghahr. & Pakravan & Assadi *'' Alcea nikitinii'' Iljin *'' Alcea nudiflora'' (Lindl.) Boiss. *'' Alcea peduncularis'' Boiss. & Hausskn. *'' Alcea pisidica'' Hub.-Mor. *'' Alcea popovii'' Iljin *'' Alcea rechingeri'' (Zohary) I.Riedl *'' Alcea remotiflora'' (Boiss. & Heldr.) Alef. *'' Alcea rhyticarpa'' (Trautv.) Iljin *'' Alcea rosea'' L. – common hollyhock *''

Alcea rosulata ''Alcea'' is a genus of over 80 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Americas, the streambank wild hollyhock, ...

'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea rufescens'' (Boiss.) Boiss. *'' Alcea rugosa'' Alef. *'' Alcea scabridula'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea schirazana'' Alef. *'' Alcea semnanica'' Pakravan *'' Alcea setosa'' (Boiss.) Alef. – bristly hollyhock *'' Alcea sophiae'' Iljin *'' Alcea sosnovskyi'' Iljin *'' Alcea sotudehi'' Parsa *'' Alcea striata'' (DC.) Alef. *'' Alcea sulphurea'' (Boiss. & Hohen.) Alef. *'' Alcea sycophylla'' Iljin & V.V.Nikitin *'' Alcea tabrisiana'' (Boiss. & Buhse) Iljin *'' Alcea talassica'' Iljin *'' Alcea tarica'' Pakravan & Ghahr. *'' Alcea teheranica'' Parsa *'' Alcea tholozanii'' Stapf *'' Alcea transcaucasica'' (Iljin) Iljin *'' Alcea turcomanica'' Iljin *'' Alcea turkeviczii'' Iljin *'' Alcea vameghii'' Parsa *'' Alcea wilhelminae'' I.Riedl *'' Alcea woronowii'' (Iljin ex Grossh.) Iljin *'' Alcea xanthochlora'' I.Riedl

Uses

Hollyhocks are popular

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

s. They are easily grown from seed. Breeds with red flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

s have been bred, especially from ''A. rosea''. They include the double-flowered 'Chater's Double', the raspberry-colored 'Creme de Cassis', and 'The Watchman', which has dark, nearly black, maroon flowers.Hollyhock: ''A. rosea''.
''Better Homes and Gardens''. The stems of hollyhocks can be used as firewood, and the roots have been used medicinally.

Pests and diseases

''Alcea'' species are used as food plants by the

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of some Lepidoptera species including ''

Bucculatrix quadrigemina ''Bucculatrix quadrigemina'' is a moth in the family Bucculatricidae. It was described in 1918 by Annette Frances Braun and is found in North America, where it has been recorded from California California is a state in the Western United S ...

'' and '' Vanessa cardui'', the painted lady. The mallow flea beetle (''Podagrica fuscicornis'') is a pest that makes tiny holes in the leaves. Cutworms, aphids, and capsid bugs use the plant as a food source in hotter and drier conditions. A number of

weevil Weevils are beetles belonging to the superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They belong to several families, ...

s use ''A. rosea'' as their host plant, including '' Rhopalapion longirostre'', '' Alocentron curvirostre'', and '' Aspidapion validum''.Wilhelm, G., et al. (2011)
Sexual dimorphism in head structures of the weevil ''Rhopalapion longirostre'' (Olivier 1807) (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): a response to ecological demands of egg deposition.
''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 104(3) 642-60. The plants are also susceptible to the pathogenic

fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately fr ...

'' Puccinia malvacearum'', the hollyhock rust.

Culture

The Aoi Matsuri (Hollyhock Festival) is one of the three main festivals of the city of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the c ...

. During the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwa ...

, the hollyhock symbolized both ambition and fecundity in the language of flowers. The UK National Collection of hollyhocks is held by Jonathan Sheppard in Lincolnshire. File:Aoix2.jpg, Man carrying a hollyhock float during the Aoi Matsuri procession

Gallery

File:Hollyhock - Kolkata 2011-02-25 1734.JPG, ''Alcea'' sp. File:Alcea-setosa--Chotmit--Zachi-Evenor.jpg, ''Alcea setosa'' File:Alcea rosea3 ies.jpg,

Sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s File:Malva negra - Alcea rosea var. nigra - Hollyhock (7448054488).jpg, ''Alcea rosea'' 'Nigra' File:Alcea Rosea Hollyhocks flower plant.jpg, ''Alcea'' sp. File:Alcea Rosea Hollyhocks flower plant - Closer look.jpg, ''Alcea'' sp. Closer look at the flower

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Malveae Malvaceae genera Perennial plants Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus