Malva alcea Malva alcea Malva alcea (greater musk-mallow, cut-leaved mallow, vervain mallow or hollyhock mallow) is a plant in the mallow family native to southwestern, central and eastern Europe and southwestern Asia, from Spain north to southern Sweden and east to Russia and Turkey. It is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 50–125 cm tall, with stems covered in stellate hairs, meaning they branch at the free end into several strands. The leaves are 2–8 cm long and 2–8 cm broad, palmately lobed with five to seven blunt lobes; basal leaves on the lower stem are very shallowly lobed, those higher on
Sarracenia rosea "Sarracenia rosea" f. "luteola". The species is native to the Gulf Coast of the Southeastern United States, and has been found from Mississippi to Georgia. However, the areas in which the plant occurs are being developed, so the species's habitat is threatened. However along with "Sarracenia psittacina", this species readily colonizes drainage ditches along highways throughout the gulf states providing a somewhat more sustainable albeit less natural habitat. "S. rosea" is appreciably more shade-tolerant than the other members of the genus. "Sarracenia rosea" was first identified by the American botanist Edgar T. Wherry as a "mutant" form of "S. purpurea"