Flora of North America species comparison

erect, usually simple.

stipules persistent or caducous, ovate [unlobed] or 2–4-fid, sparsely to densely stellate-pilose;

blade orbiculate, angled, weakly lobed or deeply palmately parted, base cordate, cuneate, or truncate, margins crenate-serrate, apex acute to obtuse.

usually cauline, alternate, also distichous in Krapovickasia, Malvella, Meximalva, and some species of Sida, subsessile or sessile in some Herissantia, Horsfordia, Sida, Sidastrum, and Sphaeralcea;

blade usually symmetric, asymmetric in Malvella, sometimes asymmetric in Pavonia, usually unlobed, sometimes palmately lobed or dissected, margins serrate or entire, primary veins often palmate (except in Lagunaria), without nectaries (except in Gossypium, Hibiscus, Talipariti, Thespesia, and Urena).

terminal and/or axillary, usually unbranched, racemes, often with 1–5-flowered axillary fascicles, elongate, flowers axillary, solitary or fascicled;

involucellar bractlets persistent, attached to apex of pedicel, connate basally, 6–7[–9]-parted, stellate-hairy.

terminal or axillary, umbels, spikes, racemes, or panicles or solitary flowers;

bracts usually present.

calyx usually accrescent, not inflated, lobes slightly or conspicuously striate, lanceolate, margins entire, apex obtuse to acuminate, densely stellate-pilose-hairy;

corolla rotate, white, pink, red, purple, or yellow, darker or paler basally, base densely white-pilose-hairy;

staminal column exserted, 5-angled, anthers crowded, pale yellow, glabrous;

ovary [15–]20–40-carpellate;

ovules 1 per carpel;

style [15–]20–40-branched (equaling number of locules);

stigmas decurrent, filiform.

bisexual or unisexual, some species with staminate or pistillate flowers, plants usually hermaphroditic, some dioecious, some monoecious;

involucel (epicalyx) present or absent;

sepals usually persistent (deciduous in Abelmoschus), 5, ± connate;

petals 5, usually distinct, adnate to staminal column and connate to each other at base, falling together, without clawlike appendage;

androgynophore absent;

androecium monadelphous, in more than 1 concentric series in Sidalcea, staminal column sometimes toothed at apex, stamens 5–many, filaments connate;

anthers 1-thecate;

staminodes absent or 5 teeth at apex of staminal column;

gynoecium syncarpous, ovary superior, 3–40-carpellate;

styles 1, branched or unbranched;

stigmas truncate, capitate, linear, or filiform, 1–2 times number of carpels.

schizocarps, erect, not inflated, disc-shaped, dry, central axis equaling or shorter than mericarps, indehiscent;

mericarps [15–]20–40, 2-celled (proximal cell 1-seeded, distal cell sterile), laterally compressed and reniform-circular with prominent ventral notch, smooth to wrinkled, hairy [glabrous].

usually schizocarps with 5–many wedge-shaped mericarps or folliclelike segments, or capsules with 3–5 cells, rarely berries (in Malvaviscus), carpels sometimes with internal protrusion dividing carpel into 2 cells, dehiscence loculicidal, rarely indehiscent.

1 per mericarp, brown, reniform, glabrous or minutely hairy.

2–30, often reniform, glabrous or hairy.

= 21 [n = 13, 21].