Alcea "Alcea" species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including "Bucculatrix quadrigemina" and "Vanessa cardui", the painted lady. The mallow flea beetle ("Podagrica fuscicornis") is a pest that makes tiny holes in the leaves. Cutworms, aphids, and capsid bugs use the plant as a food source in hotter and drier conditions. A number of weevils use "A. rosea" as their host plant, including "Rhopalapion longirostre", "Alocentron curvirostre", and "Aspidapion validum". The plants are also susceptible to the pathogenic fungus "Puccinia malvacearum", the hollyhock rust. A hollyhock flower, known in Japan as , was incorporated into
Zephyranthes rosea ἄνθος ("anthos", 'flower'). Zephyrus, the Greek personification of the west wind, is also associated with rainfall. The specific name comes from Latin for 'rosy'. Other common names of "Z. rosea" include 'pink rain lily', 'pink fairy lily', 'pink magic lily', 'pink zephyr lily', 'rain flower', and 'rose rain lily'. It is also commonly known as "duende rojo" ('red dwarf') and "leli de San Jose" in Spanish; and "rosafarbene" and "Windblume" in German. "Zephyranthes rosea" is one of the two "Zephyranthes" species known as the 'pink rain lily'. The other species is "Zephyranthes carinata", usually referred to incorrectly as "Zephyranthes grandiflora".