Sea mallow

Malva subovata, commonly called sea mallow or tree mallow, is a small evergreen subshrub or perennial herb of the Malvaceae family native to the western and central Mediterranean basin, especially coastal cliffs and rocky shores of Iberia, the Balearic Islands, southern France and North Africa. It typically grows 0.3 to 1.2 m tall, with sparsely branched, slightly woody stems clothed in stellate-pubescent young growth. The leaves are broadly ovate to subovate or shallowly 3 to 5 lobed, with crenate margins, cordate base and soft greyish pubescence on both surfaces. Showy axillary clusters of pink to pale purple flowers, 2 to 4 cm across, have five obcordate notched petals with darker veins and a prominent staminal column typical of the family. The schizocarp breaks into numerous one-seeded mericarps. Formerly placed in the genus Lavatera, it is now treated within Malva.