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
Swiftia rosea Swiftia rosea Swiftia rosea is a species of gorgonian-type octocoral in the family Plexauridae. Colonies of this sea fan are usually high. There is usually a single main stem with a few branches at an angle to the main stem but in a single plane. The polyps are in two rows on the thicker branches but near the tips they are closer together and more disordered. The colour of this sea fan is dark red. The polyps are colourless and cannot be retracted back into the branches. This sea fan resembles the closely related but rather less common "Swiftia pallida",