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
Rhodopetala rosea solely on shell characteristics), Lindberg proposed the creation of a new subfamily within the Acmaeidae to be called "Rhodopetaleinae" with this species as its only member. It is distinguished from the other subfamilies of this family by its helcioniform rather than conical shell, a silvery metallic luster in its central area rather than a porcelaneous quality, and the presence of a rudimentary gill lacking ctenidial structures. It is the combination of the shell structure (patellid) and anatomy (acmaeid) which suggest this is an intermediary group between the acmaeid and cellanid limpets. Rhodopetala rosea Rhodopetala rosea, common name the pink limpet,