Sida (plant) Sida (plant) Sida is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. They are distributed in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide, especially in the Americas. Plants of the genus may be known generally as fanpetals or sidas. These are annual or perennial herbs or shrubs growing up to 2m tall (6 feet). Most species have hairy herbage. The leaf blades are usually unlobed with serrated edges, but may be divided into lobes. They are borne on petioles and have stipules. Flowers are solitary or arranged in inflorescences of various forms. Each has five hairy sepals and five petals
Cliffortia have arisen at four independent occasions. Trimerous flowers have three sepals of variable size, and in male flowers six to many stamens. Tetramerous flowers have four sepals of 5 mm long at most and either four or eight stamens. In female flowers the sepals are united at their base to form a calyx tube, and have one or two styles, that are finely divided like an ostridge feather. One or two achenes may develop in each flower, within the inflating calyx. The first who mentioned species that are currently assigned to "Cliffortia" was Leonard Plukenet in 1696. Names published before