''Malva punctata'' (previously known as ''Lavatera punctata''), commonly called spotted-stalked tree-mallow or annual tree mallow, is an annual

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of t ...

plant belonging to the genus '' Malva'' of the family Malvaceae.

Description

''Malva punctata'' reaches on average of height. The stem is erect and covered with scattered hairs. The leaves are alternate, trilobed with the central lobe larger than the others, petiolate with stipules, the lowest are kidney-shaped and slightly lobed, while the upper ones are pentagonal. The flowers grow in the axils of the leaves. Calyx is campanulate, five-lobed, with five triangular pink petals with purple veins, of about , three times longer than the calyx. The flowering period extends from May through June.

Gallery

Distribution

Plant of western Mediterranean origin is distributed from the South of France and Italy to Albania, Greece,

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, Israel, Asia Minor and Turkey.

Habitat

These plants grow at an altitude of above sea level. They prefer rocky soils in sunny areas and fallow fields, hedgerows, beds of streams and road margins.

References

* Pignatti S. - Flora d'Italia - Edagricole – 1982 – Vol. II, pg. 89
Lavatera punctata
punctata Flora of Lebanon {{Malveae-stub