Malvastrum corchorifolium (Desr.) Britton

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Malvaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Malvastrum corchorifolium (Desr.) Britton ex Small

  • Description

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    Species Description - Erect subshrub 25-60 cm tall; stems with 3-5-rayed appressed stellate hairs. Leaf blades ovate, 2-6 X 1-3 cm, the margins dentate, the upper surface with 4-5-rayed stellate hairs; petioles 1-4 cm long. Rowers solitary in the axils of the upper leaves, subsessile, becoming congested and spicate on branch tips, the spikes usually no more than 2 cm long, the individual flowers bracteate, subtended by an involucel of 3 lanceolate bractlets. Calyx 5-6 mm long (accrescent to 7-11 mm in fruit), moderately pubescent; corolla exceeding calyx, yellow; androecium yellowish, the column stellate-pubescent. Fruit oblate, 5-6.5 mm diam.;mericarps 11-13, apically setose, laterally pubescent, with cusps greatly suppressed.

    Distribution and Ecology - Common in open disturbed and waste ground. In vicinity of Enighed (A3924), Coral Bay (A2578), Maho Bay Quarter along Center Line Road (A1852). Also on St. Croix and Virgin Gorda (fide Britton & Wilson, 1924: 550); West Indies, United States (Rorida), Mexico, and Central America.