Malvaceae A.L. de Jussieu. Common name: Mallow Family.

Key to Malvaceae

A family of about 243 genera and 4000-4500 species, herbs, shrubs, and trees, of cosmopolitan distribution, but especially diverse in the tropics and subtropics. Malvaceae has always been difficult to circumscribe cleanly, relative to members of such families as Sterculiaceae and Tiliaceae. Molecular evidence now adds to morphologic evidence that traditional circumscriptions of these families are highly polyphyletic. Bayer et al. (1999) presented a classification of an expanded Malvaceae, with 9 subfamilies recognized. This family includes several economically important species, including cotton (Gossypium spp.), cacao or chocolate (Theobroma cacao Linnaeus), and cola (Cola acuminata R. Brown).

ID notes: Malvaceae flowers have a terminal flower and often three subtending bracts (an epicalyx). The epicalyx, also sometimes referred to as involucel, is absent in some Mallows, but when present is usually in a whorl and sometimes forms a connate "cup-like" structure. The fruit are typically schizocarps with 5+ mericarps, capsules, or follicle-like segments.

References: Barrett, Hanes, & McLay (2023); Bayer & Kubitzki (2003) In Kubitzki & Bayer (2003); Bayer et al. (1999); Fryxell (1988); Hanes (2015) In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2015); Hanes et al. (2024). Show full citations.

Show in key(s)

Show genera in Malvaceae

Show all taxa in Malvaceae