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I'm pretty good at naming and distinguishing plants but this one has me stumped. The pictures were sent to me by a friend who wanted to know what it is. It's located in So Cal. Does anyone have a pretty good idea what it is?
That's Indian Mallow, a member of the Abutilon family of plants. It grows wild in the west. We have it here too.
Take heed. Tell your friend it's a "good herb" plant but be careful to not let birds, squirrels, mice get into those seed pods and scatter the seeds, (they love to eat the mature seeds) nor let any of the seeds get loose and into the lawn or flower beds. It's highly invasive in cultivated areas, spreads rapidly by both roots and seeds and is next to impossible to get rid of once it gets a good "roothold" on the property. (The seeds can be collected and roasted and eaten like roasted nuts.)
I recognized what it was as soon I saw the pictures since we have that same variety growing wild in my region, as well as the attractive lilac coloured wild Common Mallow too. I have an herbalist's interest in cultivating specimens of local wild mallows because all mallows have so many excellent medicinal properties.... and they are joyful plants. But I have learned through trial and error that if you are growing it on your property then the plants and seeds absolutely must be kept confined to containers or else they will spread too much joy all over your property.
Around here, we more often call that Velvetleaf. (Or maybe it's just a very close relative in the genus Abutilon.) It's a common weed found in farm fields. It probably has other common names, too.
Thank you for the kind words.
I have an herbalist's interest in cultivating specimens of local wild mallows ...
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I remember reading yrs ago about a small island (hardly more than a sand bar) in the Kankakee River just south of Chicago that is the only home of a certain species of mallow. Are you familiar with this?
BTW- back to the OP-- very common here; we have a couple growing in my natural meadow front yard. I thought it was Helianthus tuberosus. Now I think you're right.
Last edited by guidoLaMoto; 08-17-2018 at 01:24 PM..
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