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 ornamentals, such as Alcea (hollyhock), Malva (mallow), and Tilia. The genera with the largest numbers of species include Hibiscus, Pavonia, Sida, Ayenia, Dombeya, and Sterculia.
The Mascarene Islands or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of the islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of La Réunion. Their name derives from the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas, who first visited them in April 1512. The islands share a common geologic origin in the volcanism of the Réunion hotspot beneath the Mascarene Plateau and form a distinct ecoregion with a unique flora and fauna.
Bombacaceae were long recognised as a family of flowering plants or Angiospermae. The family name was based on the type genus Bombax. As is true for many botanical names, circumscription and status of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point of view, and currently the preference is to transfer most of the erstwhile family Bombacaceae to the subfamily Bombacoideae within the family Malvaceae in the order Malvales. The rest of the family were transferred to other taxa, notably the new family Durionaceae. Irrespective of current taxonomic status, many of the species originally included in the Bombacaceae are of considerable ecological, historical, horticultural, and economic importance, such as balsa, kapok, baobab and durian.
Tiliaceae is a family of flowering plants. It is not a part of the APG, APG II and APG III classifications, being sunk in Malvaceae mostly as the subfamilies Tilioideae, Brownlowioideae and Grewioideae, but has an extensive historical record of use.
Sterculiaceae was a family of flowering plant based on the genus Sterculia. Genera formerly included in Sterculiaceae are now placed in the family Malvaceae, in the subfamilies: Byttnerioideae, Dombeyoideae, Helicteroideae and Sterculioideae.
Cavanilla is a name that has been used four times, applied to four different groups of plants. None of the names is in common use today. Names are
Grewia is a large flowering plant genus in the mallow family Malvaceae, in the expanded sense as proposed by the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group. Formerly, Grewia was placed in either the family Tiliaceae or the Sparrmanniaceae. However, these were both not monophyletic with respect to other Malvales - as already indicated by the uncertainties surrounding placement of Grewia and similar genera - and have thus been merged into the Malvaceae. Together with the bulk of the former Sparrmanniaceae, Grewia is in the subfamily Grewioideae and therein the tribe Grewieae, of which it is the type genus.
The flowering plant genus Trochetiopsis consists of two extant and one extinct species endemic to the island of Saint Helena. They were formerly placed in the family Sterculiaceae, but this is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics.
Burretiodendron is a genus of trees. Traditionally included in the family Tiliaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. It contains some species formerly in the Pentace. Thus, ParapentaceGagnep. may be a synonym of Burretiodendron rather than Pentace.
Dombeya acutangula, the bois bete or mahot tantan, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to the Mascarene Islands, and Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia.
Dombeya is a flowering plant genus. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometimes, misleadingly, allude to the superficial similarity of flowering Dombeya to pears or hydrangeas. Therefore, the genus as a whole is often simply called dombeyas. The generic name commemorates Joseph Dombey (1742–1794), a French botanist and explorer in South America, involved in the notorious "Dombey affair", embroiling scientists and governments of France, Spain, and Britain for more than two years.
Dombeya amaniensis is a flowering plant species found only in Tanzania. Formerly placed in the family Sterculiaceae, this artificial assemblage is now included in the Malvaceae by most authors.
Eriolaena is a genus of flowering plants. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included now in the recently expanded Malvaceae. The genus is distributed in Asia and eastern Africa, from southern China through Indochina to India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, and coastal Mozambique.
Melhania is a genus of small shrubs or herbaceous plants. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. The genus is named for Mount Melhan in Yemen.
Nesogordonia is a genus of flowering plants. It ranges across tropical Africa, Madagascar, and the Comoro Islands. The majority of species are endemic to Madagascar.
Schoutenia is a genus of flowering plants. It ranges from Indochina through Malaysia, Indonesia, New Guinea, and Northern Australia.
Gossypieae is a tribe of the flowering plant subfamily Malvoideae. It includes the cotton (Gossypium) and related plants. It is distinguished from the Hibisceae on the basis of embryo structure and its apparently unique possession of glands able to synthesize the pigment gossypol.
Malveae is a tribe of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, subfamily Malvoideae. The tribe circumscribes approximately 70 genera and 1040 species and has the greatest species diversity out the three tribes that make up Malvoideae. The flowers of Malveae are five-merous with a characteristic staminal column, a trait found throughout Malvoideae. Although there are not many economically important species within Malveae, the tribe includes Althaea officinalis, otherwise known as the marsh-mallow.
Ruizia is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Malvaceae. It contains 13 species native mostly to the Mascarene Islands, and one species native to Madagascar.
