Malva parviflora | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Malvales |
Family: | Malvaceae |
Genus: | Malva |
Species: | M. parviflora |
Binomial name | |
Malva parviflora | |
Malva parviflora is an annual or perennial herb that is native to Northern Africa, Southern Europe, and Western and Central Asia and is widely naturalised elsewhere. [1] Common names include cheeseweed, [1] cheeseweed mallow, Egyptian mallow, [1] least mallow, [2] little mallow, [1] mallow, [3] marshmallow, [3] small-flowered mallow, [4] small-flowered marshmallow [5] Nafa Shak and smallflower mallow. [3] It typically grows on agricultural lands and in disturbed sites such as roadsides. [6]
M. parviflora has a decumbent or erect habit, growing up to 50–80 cm in height. [4] [6] The broad leaves have 5 to 7 shallow lobes and are 8 to 10 cm in diameter. [4] The lobe edges are round toothed, with varying hairiness. [6] It has small white or pink flowers year-round at the base of leaf stalks; flowers have 4 to 10 mm long petals. [4] [6] The 2 mm seeds are reddish-brown and kidney-shaped. [6]
Newly sprouted plants have hairless, heart-shaped cotyledons with long stalks. These cotyledons are 3–12 mm long and 3–8 mm wide. Stalks usually do have hairs. The first leaf is rounder and larger than the others. True leaves are round and weakly lobed with wavy, shallow-toothed edges and a red spot at the leaf base. The plant rapidly grows a deep taproot. [6]
M. parviflora leaf extracts possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. [7] Under some conditions, the plant's leaves and seeds can be toxic to cattle and poultry due to an accumulation of nitrates. [6]
M. parviflora is sometimes used medicinally in infusions, cooking, or poultices as a laxative, moisturizer or antitussive. [8] In Mexico, M. parviflora is consumed as a quelite and used in traditional medicine to treat wounds, stomach problems such as gastritis, and problems with the liver, throat, and intestines. [9]
In the 20th century, naturalist Alfonso Herrera Fernández mentioned that "the dried and pulverized leaves form a powder known as mallow flour which, alone or mixed with flaxseed flour, is used to make moisturizing poultices. The flowers are used in infusions as diaphoretics." [10]
Althaea officinalis, the marsh mallow or marshmallow, is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Europe, Western Asia and North Africa, which is used in herbalism and as an ornamental plant. A confection made from the root since ancient Egyptian times evolved into today's marshmallow treat, but most modern marshmallow treats no longer contain any marsh-mallow root.
Malva is a genus of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae. It is one of several closely related genera in the family to bear the common English name mallow. The genus is widespread throughout the temperate, subtropical and tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Europe.
Malva moschata, the musk mallow or musk-mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae, native to Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to the British Isles and Poland, and east to southern Russia and Turkey. Growing to 60 cm (24 in) tall, it is a herbaceous perennial with hairy stems and foliage, and pink saucer-shaped flowers in summer.
Myosotis sylvatica, the wood forget-me-not or woodland forget-me-not, is a species of flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae, native to Europe. This spring-flowering plant and its cultivars, typically with blue flowers, are the familiar forget-me-nots of gardens.
Malva alcea is a plant in the mallow family native to southwestern, central and eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to southern Sweden and east to Russia and Turkey.
Malva sylvestris is a species of the mallow genus Malva in the family of Malvaceae and is considered to be the type species for the genus. Known as common mallow to English-speaking Europeans, it acquired the common names of cheeses, high mallow and tall mallow as it migrated from its native home in Western Europe, North Africa and Asia through the English-speaking world.
Malva neglecta is a species of plant of the family Malvaceae, native to most of the Old World except sub-Saharan Africa. It is an annual growing to 0.6 m (2 ft). It is known as common mallow in the United States and also as buttonweed, cheeseplant, cheeseweed, dwarf mallow, and roundleaf mallow. This plant is often consumed as a food, with its leaves, stalks and seed all being considered edible. This is especially true of the seeds, which contain 21% protein and 15.2% fat.
Malva multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names Cornish mallow and Cretan hollyhock. It is native to western Europe, North Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin, and it is naturalized in areas with a Mediterranean climate, such as parts of Australia, South Africa, and California. This is an annual or biennial herb growing a tough, somewhat hairy stem to a maximum height between 1 and 3 meters. The leaves are multilobed with flat or wavy edges, slightly hairy, and up to 10 centimeters long. The plant bears small pink or light purple flowers with petals just over a centimeter long. The fruit is disc-shaped with 7 to 10 segments.
Fumaria muralis, known as common ramping-fumitory or wall fumitory, is a flowering herbaceous plant in the poppy family (Papaveraceae) native to western Europe and northwestern Africa.
Malva nicaeensis is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names bull mallow and French mallow.
Malva punctata, commonly called spotted-stalked tree-mallow or annual tree mallow, is an annual herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Malva of the family Malvaceae.
Malva pusilla, also known as Malva rotundifolia, the low mallow, small mallow, or the round-leaved mallow, is an annual and biennial herb species of the Mallow genus Malva in the family of Malvaceae. Malva is a genus that consists of about 30 species of plants. This genus consists of plants named mallows. Mallows grow in many regions, including temperate, subtropical, and tropical areas.
Eremophila strongylophylla is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with distinctive round leaves, yellowish new growth and purple flowers which are white inside. It is similar to Eremophila mackinlayi and Eremophila hygrophana but distinguished from them by characteristics including leaf shape, and the type of hairs on its leaves and branches.
Eremophila virens, commonly known as green-flowered eremophila or Campion eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with large, shiny leaves and hairy, yellowish-green flowers.
Zanthoxylum echinocarpum is a woody plant in the family Rutaceae and is native to South-Central and Southeast China.
Malva setigera, also known as Althaea hirsuta, the rough marsh-mallow or hairy marshmallow, is a species of annual herb in the family Malvaceae. It has a self-supporting growth form and simple, broad leaves. Individuals can grow to 28 cm (11 in).
Erigeron floribundus is an annual/biennial plant native to South America to Mexico and introduced to many parts of the world. Its common names include tall fleabane, Bilbao's fleabane, and many-flowered fleabane.
Malvella sherardiana, or Sherard's malvella, is a perennial plant native to Spain and from Greece to Crimea, southeastward to Iran, the only old world species in the genus Malvella.
Alcea digitata, the fingered hollyhock, is a tall hollyhock with large flowers native to the Middle East.
Malva unguiculata, the bryony-leaved tree-mallow, is a very tall perennial tree-mallow with large pink flowers native to the East Mediterranean.