A family of over 1500 herbs, shrubs and small trees of both tropical and temperate regions. The flowers are characterised by having the stamens fused together in a central column around the style. The fruits are button-like and composed of numerous segments. There are 94 native species in Western Australia and 16 naturalised.Gossypium hirsutum (cotton) is an annual or perennial up to 1.5m tall. The leaves have three lobes. The petals are white or cream, 3-4cm long, turning pink or purple with age. Seed pods open to expose characteristic balls of white fibres. Originally from Central America, it has escaped from cultivation and is now found in wasteland, creeks and pindan in the Kimberley, and also in Port Hedland. Hibiscus diversifolius is a tall, prickly shrub up to 2m or more. The leaves have three to five lobes and are rough to the touch. The petals are 3-4cm long, yellow with a dark purple basal spot. It is widespread in the tropics, probably native to eastern Australia, now found on mud flats in the Swan River estuary and on creeks in the Darling Range. Flowers in summer.
Hibiscus
diversifolius
, RR
H. sabdariffa (rosella) is an annual herb, up to 1m, native to North Africa. The petals are yellow with reddish-brown base, 15-25mm long. The fruiting calyx becomes red and fleshy and has been cultivated for use as a 'filler' for jam. It is a garden escape, occurring as a weed of wasteland, creeks and river edges in the Kimberley. Flowers in May and June.
H.
sabdariffa
, AM
H. trionum var. trionum (bladder ketmia) is an annual or short-lived perennial, up to 1m. It has deeply divided, three to five lobed leaves. The petals are creamy-yellow, 3-4cm long, with a dark purple basal spot and it flowers in summer. The calyx inflates after flowering to form the 'bladder' that encloses the fruit. Its origin is uncertain, but it is introduced to Australia. It is found as a weed of wasteland and agricultural land from Moora to Donnybrook. A closely related form, var. vesicarius, is native to northern Australia and has leaves that are less deeply divided.
H.
trionum
var. trionum , RR
Lagunaria patersoniana subsp. patersoniana (Norfolk Island hibiscus) is a tree up to 15m. Its leaves are entire, up to 10cm long and have white undersides when young. The petals are 2-4cm long and pale pink or mauve. It flowers in summer and autumn. This species is native to Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island. It has escaped from gardens and is now found on the Swan River estuary and near Augusta.
Lagunaria
patersoniana subsp. patersoniana
,
PH
Lavatera arborea (tree mallow) is a biennial, up to 3m. Leaves have five to seven lobes. Petals are lilac to purple with dark purple veins at their base and 2-2.5mm long. The fruit is divided into six to eight sections. A native of Europe, this species has escaped from gardens and is found on islands around Perth and in wasteland from Perth to Albany, especially on coastal limestone. It has hybridised with the white flowered native hollyhock L. plebeia var. tomentosa on some islands. L. cretica (Cretan mallow, Cretan hollyhock) is a smaller plant (superficially similar to Malva parviflora) with paler flowers lacking dark stripes. It is an annual or biennial up to 1.5m. The leaves are more shallowly lobed than the previous species and the petals are lilac to blue and slightly smaller (1.5-2mm long). The fruit is divided into 8 to 11 sections. It is a native of the Mediterranean and has become a weed of beaches, wasteland and islands from Shark Bay to Busselton.L.trimestris is an erect annual, much shorter and less woody than the previous two species (only up to 50cm). The leaves are entire, or only slightly lobed. Petals are 2-3cm long and white, pink, red or lilac. A garden escape, native to the Mediterranean, it has been recorded as a weed of wasteland from the Pilbara to the south-west of the State.
Lavatera
arborea
, RC
Malva parviflora (small flowered mallow) is an erect or low growing annual up to 1m in height. Flowers are pale mauve, pink or white, with petals 3-5mm long. A weed of roadsides, paddock margins, farmyards, wasteland, and grazed woodlands from Shark Bay to Eucla. It is a native of the Mediterranean and flowers in spring.
Malva
parviflora
, RR
Malvastrum americanum (spiked malvastrum) is an erect, hairy perennial up to 1.3m tall, native to America. The flowers are yellow to orange in a dense terminal spike and the petals are 4-5.5mm long. Perhaps because it is inedible to herbivores, it is a weed of river and creek margins, wasteland and many arid zone habitats, from the Nullarbor to the Pilbara and Kimberley.M. coromandelianum (prickly malvastrum) is an erect perennial to 1.5m. The flowers are yellow and produced singly in the leaf axils. Naturalised near Halls Creek and Millstream, it is a pantropical weed, native to tropical America.
Malvastrum
americanum
, GK
Modiola caroliniana (red-flowered mallow) is a prostrate annual or short-lived perennial, rooting at the nodes. It is a weed of pastures, orchards, wasteland and lawns from Busselton to Albany. The flowers are orange-red, with petals 6-8mm long. Native to South America.
Modiola
caroliniana
, RC
Pavonia hastata is a shrub up to 1.5m. Its petals are about 2.5cm long, pink with a dark, reddish purple base. Flowers in summer. It has escaped from gardens and is spreading along roadsides in the Darling Range near Perth. It is native to South America.
Pavonia
hastata
, PH
Sida acuta subsp. carpinifolia (spinyhead sida) DP is a common weed of the Kimberley, occurring in wasteland, creeks and riverine vine thickets. A perennial herb or small shrub, to 60cm. The petals are pale yellow, 3-8mm long. Flowers between February and September. Pantropical, possibly native to tropical America and Africa. Another Sida, closely related to S. rhombifolia, has been found at Perth and in the irrigated area at Harvey.
Sida
acuta
, AM
