Malvaceae A number of species, including "Hibiscus syriacus", "Hibiscus rosa-sinensis" and "Alcea rosea" are garden plants. Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ornamentals, such as "Alcea" (hollyhock), "Malva" (mallow) and "Lavatera" (tree mallow). The largest genera in terms of number of species include "Hibiscus" (300 species), "Sterculia" (250 species), "Dombeya" (250 species), "Pavonia" (200 species) and "Sida" (200 species). The circumscription of the Malvaceae is controversial. The traditional Malvaceae
Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary located 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers) offshore of Galveston, Texas in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Underlying salt domes forced the seafloor upward in various areas of the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the formation of rises and banks. Conditions of the Gulf of Mexico were conducive to reef-building, which started roughly ten to fifteen thousand years ago. Two reefs, East Flower Garden Bank (EFGB) and West Flower Garden Bank (WFGB), made up Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) when