Lavatera
Encyclopedia
Lavatera is a genus
of about 25 species
of flowering plant
s in the family Malvaceae
, native to the Mediterranean region, central and eastern Asia
, and Australia
. A number of species previously listed in this genus have now been transferred to the related genus Malva
. Lavatera species are known as tree mallows, or rather ambiguously as rose mallow
s, royal mallow
s or annual mallow
s.
The genus includes annual
, biennial
and perennial
herbaceous
plants and soft-wooded shrub
s, growing from 1-3 m tall. The leaves
are spirally arranged, and palmately lobed. The flower
s are conspicuous, 4-12 cm diameter, with five white, pink or red petals; they are produced in terminal clusters.
Lavatera species are used as food plants by the larva
e of some Lepidoptera
species including Bucculatrix lavaterella, which feeds exclusively on these plants. Flowers of several species are also used as food by humans.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of about 25 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
, native to the Mediterranean region, central and eastern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. A number of species previously listed in this genus have now been transferred to the related genus Malva
Malva
Malva is a genus of about 25–30 species of herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial plants in the family Malvaceae , 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...
. Lavatera species are known as tree mallows, or rather ambiguously as rose mallow
Rose Mallow
Rose Mallow may refer to:*Any plant in the Lavatera genus; specially Lavatera trimestris*Any of several species in the Hibiscus genus, especially Hibiscus moscheutos...
s, royal mallow
Royal Mallow
Royal Mallow may refer to:* Lavatera assurgentiflora* Lavatera trimestris* The Royal Mallows, a fictional regiment...
s or annual mallow
Annual Mallow
Annual Mallow may refer to:* Lavatera trimestris* Malope trifida...
s.
The genus includes annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
, biennial
Biennial plant
A biennial plant is a flowering plant that takes two years to complete its biological lifecycle. In the first year the plant grows leaves, stems, and roots , then it enters a period of dormancy over the colder months. Usually the stem remains very short and the leaves are low to the ground, forming...
and perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herbaceous
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
plants and soft-wooded shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s, growing from 1-3 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are spirally arranged, and palmately lobed. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are conspicuous, 4-12 cm diameter, with five white, pink or red petals; they are produced in terminal clusters.
Lavatera species are used as food plants by the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e of some Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera
Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
species including Bucculatrix lavaterella, which feeds exclusively on these plants. Flowers of several species are also used as food by humans.
Selected species
|
Lavatera phoenicea Lavatera phoenicea is a large shrub belonging to the family Malvaceae and tribe Malveae, endemic to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands.... Lavatera punctata Lavatera punctata, commonly called Spotted Stalked Tree Mallow or Annual Tree Mallow, is a annual herbaceous plant belonging to the genus Lavatera of the Malvaceae family.-Description:... Lavatera thuringiaca Lavatera thuringiaca is a species of Lavatera native to eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from southern Germany south to Italy, and east to southern Russia, Kazakhstan, and Turkey.... – Garden Tree-mallow Lavatera trimestris Lavatera trimestris is an annual plant native to the Mediterranean Region.- Cultivation :... – Annual Tree-mallow |