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
Zephyranthes rosea into three lobes. The seeds are shiny black and flattened. "Zephyranthes rosea" belongs to the genus "Zephyranthes" (rain lilies) of the subtribe Zephyranthinea of the tribe Hippeastreae. It is classified under the subfamily Amaryllidoideae of the Amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae). In broader classifications, they are sometimes included within the lily family (Liliaceae). "Zephyranthes rosea" (like other rain lilies) are so named because they produce short-lived flowers only after seasonal heavy rains or storms. In "Z. rosea", this usually occurs during the late summer. The generic name "Zephyranthes" literally means "flowers of the west wind", from Greek ζέφυρος ("zéphuros", an Anemoi) and