The World Flora Online

Herbs, shrubs, or less often trees; indumentum usually with peltate scales or stellate hairs. Leaves alternate, stipulate, petiolate; leaf blade usually palmately veined, entire or various lobed. Flowers solitary, less often in small cymes or clusters, axillary or subterminal, often aggregated into terminal racemes or panicles, usually conspicuous, actinomorphic, usually bisexual (unisexual in Kydia). Epicalyx often present, forming an involucre around calyx, 3- to many lobed. Sepals 5, valvate, free or connate. Petals 5, free, contorted, or imbricate, basally adnate to base of filament tube. Stamens usually very many, filaments connate into tube; anthers 1-celled. Pollen spiny. Ovary superior, with 2-25 carpels, often separating from one another and from axis; ovules 1 to many per locule; style as many or 2 × as many as pistils, apex branched or capitate. Fruit a loculicidal capsule or a schizocarp, separating into individual mericarps, rarely berrylike when mature (Malvaviscus); carpels sometimes with an endoglossum (a crosswise projection from back wall of carpel to make it almost completely septate. Seeds often reniform, glabrous or hairy, sometimes conspicuously so.

Flowers actinomorphic, hermaphrodite or rarely unisexual Sepals valvate, with or without an epicalyx of bracteoles Herbs often with fibrous stems or rarely shrubs; hairs usually stellate or lepidote Leaves alternate, often palmately nerved or divided; stipules present Ovules on axile placentas Fruit a capsule or breaking into separate compartments Stamens numerous, monadelphous; anthers 1-celled Ovary syncarpous, rarely of 1 carpel, rarely the carpels in vertical rows; style one Petals 5, free from each other but often adnate at the base to the staminal column, contorted or imbricate Seeds usually with some endosperm and straight or curved embryo, the cotyledons often folded Sepals valvate, with or without an epicalyx of bracteoles Herbs often with fibrous stems or rarely shrubs; hairs usually stellate or lepidote Leaves alternate, often palmately nerved or divided; stipules present Ovules on axile placentas Fruit a capsule or breaking into separate compartments Stamens numerous, monadelphous; anthers 1-celled Ovary syncarpous, rarely of 1 carpel, rarely the carpels in vertical rows; style one Petals 5, free from each other but often adnate at the base to the staminal column, contorted or imbricate Seeds usually with some endosperm and straight or curved embryo, the cotyledons often folded

Fls regular, hypogynous, 5-merous, usually perfect, often with an epicalyx (its members here called bractlets); sep distinct or often connate at base, valvate; pet distinct, often adnate to the base of the filament-tube, convolute or sometimes imbricate; stamens mostly numerous, the filaments all connate into a tube for most of their length; anthers unilocular; carpels (1)2–many (often 5), either loosely coherent in a ring around the base of the single style and then separating at maturity, or wholly united into a compound ovary; style with as many long or short terminal branches as carpels; ovules 1–many per carpel; fr a loculicidal capsule, or of separating, dehiscent or indehiscent mericarps; herbs, seldom shrubs or small trees, often stellate-hairy, with alternate, stipulate, simple and entire to more or less dissected, generally palmately veined lvs. 75/1000+ cosmop. Much like the Tiliaceae; fls mostly 5-merous; sep or cal-lobes valvate; pet commonly small, or often wanting; stamens often seated on an androgynophore, typically with the filaments all connate into a tube around the gynoecium, but in our genus the anthers sessile on the androgynophore; carpels mostly 5, scarcely to evidently united (sometimes only by their styles), or even wholly distinct; mostly woody plants, with alternate, stipulate lvs, often stellate-hairy. 65/1000, mostly warm reg. Much like the Tiliaceae; fls mostly 5-merous; sep or cal-lobes valvate; pet commonly small, or often wanting; stamens often seated on an androgynophore, typically with the filaments all connate into a tube around the gynoecium, but in our genus the anthers sessile on the androgynophore; carpels mostly 5, scarcely to evidently united (sometimes only by their styles), or even wholly distinct; mostly woody plants, with alternate, stipulate lvs, often stellate-hairy. 65/1000, mostly warm reg.

Herbes'ou suffrutex, parfois arbustes ou arbres, à indument comportant souvent des poils étoilés ± rigides, ou des poils à base bulbeuse constituant des aiguillons.'Feuilles'pourvues de stipules, alternes, simples, entières ou plus souvent ± découpées, à nervation en général digitée, fréquemment polymorphes.'Fleurs'☿, en général actinomorphes, axillaires, solitaires ou en glomérules, ou formant des racèmes ou panicules terminaux, présentant en général un involucre (le calicule) à bractéoles ± développées, en nombre égal, plus grand ou plus petit que celui des sépales; calicule absent dans quelques genres; calice à 5 sépales ± soudés entre eux vers le bas, en général persistant, rarement caduc; corolle petite à très grande, à préfloraison tordue, blanche à pourpre ou violet et souvent discolore, ou jaune; pétales rétrécis vers le bas et ± soudés à la base du tube staminal; étamines ∞, soudées en un tube par les filets, libres seulement vers le sommet; anthères 2-loculaires (paraissant 1-loculaires lors de la déhiscence); pollen abondant, glutineux et hérissé de pointes; ovaire supère, à (3)5(12) carpelles 1- à pluriovulés; style passant par le tube staminal, divisé en général ± bas en un nombre de branches divergentes, égal ou double de celui des carpelles, rarement indivis ou à branches ± coalescentes; stigmates en général capités.'Fruits'capsulaires et loculicides, mais plus souvent formés de méricarpes rangés en un verticille autour d'une colonne centrale persistante dont ils se séparent à maturité, 1- à pluriséminés, déhiscents ou indéhiscents, parfois pourvus d'arêtes aiguës ± accrochantes.'Graines petites ou moyennes, souvent réniformes, glabres ou velues, albuminées, à réserve lipidique; embryon courbé, à cotylédons foliacés, pliés.\n\t\t\tFamille comptant près de 1000 espèces principalement des régions chaudes ou tempérées chaudes; pour la Flore, on connaît 12 genres, 68 espèces et 8 variétés. Plusieurs de ces espèces sont pantropicales, nettement anthropophiles ou rudérales, très polymorphes et difficiles à définir.\n\t\t\tLes tiges des Malvacées sont souvent très riches en fibres libériennes longues et solides, et leurs parties herbacées, dépourvues de substances toxiques sont riches en mucilages, d'où leur emploi fréquent comme textile ( Urena ), ou comme légume ou remède. Quelques espèces à très grandes fleurs, sont souvent cultivées comme ornementales ( Hibiscus rosa-sinensis'L.,'H. schizopetalus'Hook. f., asiatiques), mais les Cotonniers (voir genre'Gossypium ) sont les seules Malvacées de grande culture.

SELECTED REFERENCES Bayer, C. et al. 1999. Support for an expanded family concept of Malvaceae with a recircumscribed order Malvales: A combined analysis of plastid atpB and rbcL DNA sequences. Bot. J. Linn. Soc. 129: 267–303. Bayer, C. and K. Kubitzki. 2003. Malvaceae. In: K. Kubitzki et al., eds. 1990+. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants. 10+ vols. Berlin etc. Vol. 5, pp. 225–311. Brizicky, G. K. 1966. The genera of Sterculiaceae in the southeastern United States. J. Arnold Arbor. 47: 60–74. Judd, W. S. and S. R. Manchester. 1997. Circumscription of Malvaceae (Malvales) as determined by a preliminary cladistic analysis of morphological, anatomical, palynological, and chemical characters. Brittonia 49: 348–405. Whetstone, R. D. 1983. The Sterculiaceae in the flora of the southeastern United States. Sida 10: 15–23.

Herbs, subshrubs, shrubs, or trees, usually stellate-hairy. Leaves alternate, usually spiral, sometimes distichous (Malvoideae), usually petiolate, sometimes subsessile or sessile (Malvoideae), stipulate (usually well developed), simple (compound in Abelmoschus); blade unlobed or palmately lobed, palmately veined. Inflorescences axillary, terminal, or leaf-opposed. Flowers bisexual or unisexual, usually actinomorphic; involucel (epicalyx) sometimes deciduous (Malvoideae, Sterculioideae), (4–)5(–8), distinct or connate; petals 4 or 5 (absent in Bombacoideae and Sterculioideae, rarely absent in Grewioideae); nectaries glandular hairs on adaxial base of sepals, petals, or androgynophores, sometimes absent; androgynophore present or absent; stamens [4–]5–100[–1500], usually in antipetalous groups; usually same number as sepals, distinct or connate, sessile or on androgynophore; ovules (1–)2–many per ovary. Fruits usually capsules, sometimes follicles, schizocarps, berries, or nuts. Seeds: cotyledons usually folded, endosperm absent or sparse to copious.

Calyx (3–4) 5-lobed, truncate or occasionally 5- or 10-toothed; lobes valvate Petals 5, free but often slightly adnate to the staminal tube, contorted or imbricate Flowers bisexual (rarely unisexual), actinomorphic Epicalyx present or absent Leaves alternate, usually petiolate, often palmately divided Stipules present Herbs, shrublets, shrubs or small trees, usually with stellate hairs or bristles, sometimes aculeate, more rarely lepidote Stamens numerous, united in, a tube surrounding the style; anthers 1-thecous Ovary superior, (1) 2-multilocular (carpels rarely in vertical rows); style simple at the base, often branched towards the apex, branches the same number as or twice as many as the carpels; ovules 1-numerous in each loculus; placentation axile Seeds usually with some endosperm; cotyledons often folded Fruit a loculicidally dehiscent capsule or composed of follicles, achenes or pseudo-achenes arranged around a central columella, or indehiscent and woody or fleshy Petals 5, free but often slightly adnate to the staminal tube, contorted or imbricate Flowers bisexual (rarely unisexual), actinomorphic Epicalyx present or absent Leaves alternate, usually petiolate, often palmately divided Stipules present Herbs, shrublets, shrubs or small trees, usually with stellate hairs or bristles, sometimes aculeate, more rarely lepidote Stamens numerous, united in, a tube surrounding the style; anthers 1-thecous Ovary superior, (1) 2-multilocular (carpels rarely in vertical rows); style simple at the base, often branched towards the apex, branches the same number as or twice as many as the carpels; ovules 1-numerous in each loculus; placentation axile Seeds usually with some endosperm; cotyledons often folded Fruit a loculicidally dehiscent capsule or composed of follicles, achenes or pseudo-achenes arranged around a central columella, or indehiscent and woody or fleshy