Common name:
Tree mallow
Family:
Scientific name:
Lavatera arborea
Main flower color:
Range:
Coastal areas of Wales, Ireland, England and parts of Scotland
Height:
Up to 3 m
Habitat:
Sea cliffs, beach margins
Flowers:
The five petals are obovate in shape, notched at the tip, up to 2.5 cm long, pink in colour, crossed with purple veins, and dark towards the centre, while the five sepals are pale green, and much shorter. Flowers are subtended by an epicalyx of three broad lobes, longer than the sepals. Flowers are produced in pairs or small groups, at the upper leaf nodes
Leaves:
Rounded, shallowly palmately divided into five or seven lobes, covered with velvety hairs, on branched stems that are woody towards the base
Season:
June to September
Rarity:
★★★★★
