Plants of
South Australia
Malva weinmanniana
Malvaceae
Inland Austral Hollyhock,
Australian Hollyhock,
Native Hollyhock
Display all 21 images
Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
Enlarge Map
Copy Map
Copy Map
Display IBRA region text

Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 2

Prior names

Lavatera plebeia, nom.illeg., non M. plebeja Stev.

Althaea plebeia, partly

Malva australiana, partly

Lavatera australis, nom.nud.

Lavatera behriana

Malva behriana

Lavatera plebeia var. eremaea, partly

Lavatera plebeja, orth.var., partly

Common names

Inland Austral Hollyhock

Australian Hollyhock

Native Hollyhock

Etymology

Malva, a Latin name for mallow, which may have come from the Greek 'malache' or 'malakos', meaning mallow. Weinmanniana named after Johannes Anton Weinmann (1782-1858), a German born Russian botanist and gardener. The association of his name with the species is not known.

Distribution and status

Found inland across South Australia, growing in heavy soils prone to inundation such as watercourses, run-on areas and depressions. Also found in all mainland States. Native. Common in South Australia. Uncommon in the Northern Territory and Queensland. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: North Western, Lake Eyre, Nullarbor, Gairdner-Torrens, Flinders Ranges, Eastern, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Erect, usually short-lived perennial shrub to 2 m high with hairy branches, mostly arising along a main central stem. Leaves sub-entire to palmately divided with 5�9-lobes, the mid-lobe usually longer than others; to 8 cm long and wide, broadly cordate at base; yellow green; moderately to densely hairy, usually more densely hairy and paler beneath. Epicalyx not exceeding the calyx. Flowers pale pink (yellowish base) with pink-stripes. This species differs from the closely associated species, Malva preissiana principally in flower colour and relative density of hairs on the upper and lower leaf surfaces, with M. preissiana having white flowers and with both surfaces of the leaves equally hairy. Malva preissiana and M. weinmanniana can be distinguished from the hybrid, Malva arborea � M. preissiana, which has epicalyx and calyx lobes of similar length, whereas the epicalyx lobes of the native taxa are shorter than those of the calyx. Flowering between July to February. Fruits are hairy pale brown capsule to 11 mm diameter with 12�15 seed segments. Seed embryo type is folded.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between September and April. Collect mature capsules that are turning pale straw coloured and contain dark hard seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently with a rubber bung or by hand to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. This species has physical dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate (e.g. nicking or softening the seed coat).

Seeds stored:
  Hide
LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA780 (3.98 g)322-Jul-2017DEM8861
North Western
30-Jun-201896%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.