Carnegiea gigantea, Giant Saguaro

Southwest Desert Flora

Home to the plants of the Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave Deserts

Cirsium ochrocentrum, Yellowspine Thistle

Malvella sagittifolia, Arrowleaf Mallow

Malvella sagittifolia, Arrowleaf MallowMalvella sagittifolia, Arrowleaf Mallow Malvella sagittifolia, Arrowleaf MallowMalvella sagittifolia, Arrowleaf MallowMalvella sagittifolia, Arrowleaf Mallow


Scientific Name: Malvella sagittifolia
Common Name: Arrowleaf Mallow
Also Called:
Family: Malvaceae, Globe Mallow Family
Synonyms: (Sida lepidota var. sagittifolia, Sida leprosa var. sagittifolia, Sida sagittifolia)
Status: Native
Duration: Perennial
Size: Up to 3 or 4 inches tall and 3 feet wide.
Growth Form: Forb/herb; stems trailing.
Leaves: Green, silver-green; covered with small star-shaped or scaly hairs (lepidote), lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, asymmetrically-hastate leaves with 1 to 3 pairs of teeth near the base, the margins otherwise entire or nearly so.
Flower Color: White, whitish-pink or yellow; medium size flowers from axils, fruit a schizocarp, segments 7 to 8, also lepidote.
Flowering Season: March to October.
Elevation: 1,000 to 6,000 feet.

Habitat Preferences: Roadsides and dam areas, prefers saline soil.

Recorded Range: Arrowleaf Mallow is found in the southwest United States in; AZ, CO, NM and TX. The largest populations are found In Arizona in the southern and western part of the state. Small populations in CO and NM.

North America & US County Distribution Map for Malvella sagittifolia.

U.S. Weed Information: No information available.
Invasive/Noxious Weed Information: No information available.
Wetland Indicator: No information available.
Threatened/Endangered Information: No information available.

Genus Information: 3 species in Malvella in the southwest and far western United States. 3 species in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, 1 species in California. 1 species is native to the Mediterranean. The genus Malvella was previously classified in genus Sida.

The Plant List has records of 4 accepted species for Malvella.

Comments: Arrowleaf Mallow is one of only 3 species in Malvella found in the United States.

Date Profile Completed: 11/22/2015, updated format 10/12/2017
References:
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service on-line database and USGS ITIS search, as Sida lepidota; Accessed 11/22/2105;
http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=male2
Arizona Flora, Kearney, Thomas H., Peebles, Robert H., 1960, University of California Press, Berkley and Los Angeles, California, Sida lepidota var. sagittifolia.
The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 11/22/2015).
http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=malvella
Fryxell, Paul A. 1994. Malvaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27(2), 222-236.
Wikipedia contributors, 'Malvella', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 21 October 2013, 18:15 UTC,
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Malvella&oldid=578144842 [accessed 22 November 2015]
SEINet for synonyms, scientific names, recorded geographic locations and general information
http://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/.