Alcea three centimeters wide and may be pink, white, purple, or yellow. The fruit is a schizocarp, a dry disc divided into over 15 sections that contain seeds. There are about 60 species of "Alcea", including: Hollyhocks are popular garden ornamental plants. They are easily grown from seed. Breeds with red flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Cultivars have been bred, especially from "A. rosea". They include the double-flowered 'Chater's Double', the raspberry-colored 'Creme de Cassis', and 'The Watchman', which has dark, nearly black, maroon flowers. The stems of hollyhocks can be used as firewood, and the roots have been used medicinally.
Acis rosea (flower stalks) are short, 1–5 mm long. There are two spathes. "Acis rosea" was first described in 1804 by F. Martin, as "Leucojum roseum". In 1829, Robert Sweet transferred it to "Acis". However, "Acis" was not accepted by most botanists, who continued to use a broadly circumscribed "Leucojum". "Acis" was reinstated in 2004, after it was determined on morphological and molecular grounds that the broadly defined genus "Leucojum" was paraphyletic. "Acis rosea" is native to the two western Mediterranean islands of Corsica and Sardinia. It is found in rocky ground, dry pastures and sandy places. "Acis rosea" is cultivated as