''Malvella leprosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the

mallow family 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 familiar o ...

known by the common names alkali mallow and alkali sida. It is native to much of the western United States, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. It is known in parts of Australia as an introduced species. In many regions, whether native there or not, the plant is often a

noxious weed A noxious weed, harmful weed or injurious weed is a weed that has been designated by an agricultural or other governing authority as a plant that is injurious to agricultural or horticultural crops, natural habitats or ecosystems, or humans or liv ...

and easily invades habitat, including areas with

alkaline In chemistry, an alkali (; from ar, القلوي, al-qaly, lit=ashes of the saltwort) is a base (chemistry), basic, ionic compound, ionic salt (chemistry), salt of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal. An alkali can also be defined as ...

and saline soils. In California, the plant can be found in

agricultural Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...

lands, including fields and orchards. This is a decumbent perennial herb producing a white-hairy stem up to about long, spreading along the ground. The leaves are variable in shape but are generally lobed and wavy along the edges, measuring wide. Leaves appear in the leaf axils singly or in clusters of up to 3. Each flower is a cup-shaped corolla of five petals up to long in shades of pale pink, white, or light yellow. The disc-shaped fruit is divided into several segments.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfileWeeds AustraliaPhoto gallery
Malveae Flora of Argentina Flora of Chile Flora of Mexico Flora of the Western United States Flora of California Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Malveae-stub