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Malva ludwigii (L.) Soldano, Banfi & Galasso

السّطاحة / الختمي

Syn. Althaea ludwigii L.

Malvaceae
  • Morphological Description
    • Description
      Annual herb. Branches 10-60 cm long, stellate-pubescent and sparsely simple hairy. Leaves with 1-6 cm long, densely stellate-pubescent petioles; blade broadly ovate to orbicular in outline, 1-4 cm across, stellate-hairy, deeply 3-5-lobed, lobes ovate to oblong, crenate; stipules persistent, ovate-lanceolate to ovate, 3-8 x 3-5 mm, strigose hairy. Flowers axillary, 1-3, sessile to 2 cm long pedicelled. Epicalyx-segments 8-10, linear-lanceolate, connate at the base, stellate and strigose hairy, hispid, lobes deltoid-lanceolate. Corolla whitish blue to whitish pink or white, slightly longer than the calyx, petals obovate. Fruit enclosed by the accrescent calyx, depressed-globose, 4-5 mm across; mericarps 8-10, yellowish-brown, grooved; margin sharp, striately wrinkled on lateral sides, hairy. Seeds reinform, brown, 1-2 mm across, minutely punctate-rugose.
  • Habitat and Distribution
    • Geographical Distribution Range
      This Saharo-Arabian species is distributed from Morocco and Mauritania to Pakistan and India. For the Arabian Peninsula, it is native to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Gulf states and Oman. It is also present in South Africa and Namibia.
  • Ecology
    • Phenology
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      Flowering
      Fructification
    • IUCN Red List Category
      Not Evaluated  IUCN Icon
      Not Evaluated
  • Uses and Values
    • Description of Traditional Uses
      No specific documented uses were identified in accessible literature.