Alcea Alcea Alcea is a genus of about 60 species of flowering plants in the mallow family Malvaceae, commonly known as the hollyhocks. They are native to Asia and Europe. The single species of hollyhock from the Western Hemisphere, the streambank wild hollyhock, belongs to a different genus. Hollyhocks are annual, biennial, or perennial plants usually taking an erect, unbranched form. The herbage usually has a coating of star-shaped hairs. The leaf blades are often lobed or toothed, and are borne on long petioles. The flowers may be solitary or arranged in fascicles or racemes. The notched petals are usually over
Caladenia hirta subsp. rosea first formally described by John Lindley in 1840 and the description was published in "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony" but in 2001 Stephen Hopper and Andrew Brown described two subspecies, including subspecies "rosea" and the description of the two subspecies was published in "Nuytsia". The subspecies name ("rosea") is a Latin word meaning “of roses" referring to the colour of the flowers of this orchid. The pink candy orchid is widespread throughout the south-west bioregion, from Kalbarri in the north to Israelite Bay in the east. It grows in woodland and shrubland as well as