malva parviflora

M. parviflora has a decumbent or erect habit, growing up to 50–80{{nbsp}}cm in height. The broad leaves have 5–7{{nbsp}}shallow lobes and are 8–10{{nbsp}}cm in diameter. The lobe edges are round-toothed, with varying hairiness. It has small white or pink flowers year-round at the base of leaf stalks; flowers have 4–10{{nbsp}}mm long petals. The 2{{nbsp}}mm seeds are reddish-brown and kidney-shaped.

Newly sprouted plants have hairless, heart-shaped cotyledons with long stalks. These cotyledons are 3–12{{nbsp}}mm long and 3–8{{nbsp}}mm wide. Stalks usually do have hairs. The first leaf is rounder and larger than the others. True leaves are round and weakly lobed with wavy, shallow-toothed edges and a red spot at the leaf base. The plant rapidly grows a deep taproot.

M. parviflora has a diploid chromosome count of 42.

Malva parviflora was described by Carl Linnaeus and published in Demonstrationes Plantarum in Horto Upsaliensi MDCCLIII on October 3, 1753.{{cite web |url=https://wfoplantlist.org/taxon/wfo-0000449230-2023-12?page=1 |title= Malva parviflora |website= WFO Plant List |access-date=31 May 2024}}

The genus name Malva is from the Latin{{cite web |title=Malva sylvestris |url=https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=282568 |website=Missouri Botanical Garden |access-date=21 January 2025}} word {{lang|la|malva}} 'mallow'.{{cite book |last1=Lewis |first1=Charlton T. |title=An Elementary Latin Dictionary |date=1890 |publisher=American Book Company |location=New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=malva&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0060 |access-date=21 January 2025}} Mallow was described by Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia (20, LXXXIV).[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/20*.html B. Thayer, Pliny the Elder: the Natural History, Liber XX] The species name parviflora means 'small-flowered' and is a compound of the Latin words {{lang|la|parvus}} 'small' and {{lang|la|flores}} 'flowers'.{{cite web |title=Tamarix parviflora |url=https://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora/species/tamarix-parviflora/#:~:text=Etymology,'%2C%20meaning%20small%2Dflowered. |website=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network |access-date=21 January 2025}}

Two subspecies are accepted.{{cite web |title=Malva parviflora L. |url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:561830-1 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=19 February 2025}}

• Malva parviflora var. parviflora – Mediterranean basin, Sahara, Macaronesia, Arabian Peninsula, and Western Asia to the Caucasus and Pakistan
• Malva parviflora var. velutina {{small|(J.A.Schmidt) A.Chev.}} – Cape Verde Islands (Santo Antão Island)

M. parviflora typically grows on agricultural lands and in disturbed sites such as roadsides.{{cite web |title=Little mallow (cheeseweed) |url=https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/WEEDS/little_mallow.html |website=UC IPM |publisher=Regents of the University of California |access-date=17 May 2023}} Its native range extends from the Mediterranean, through West Asia, and to Central Asia and can be found in Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Croatia, Italy, Malta, Spain, France, and Portugal. The species is widely naturalized elsewhere, including in North America since the 19th century. It is a naturalized weed in Australia.{{cite journal |last1=Sharifi-Rad |first1=Javad |last2=Melgar-Lalanne |first2=Guiomar |last3=Hernández-Álvarez |first3=Alan Javier |last4=Taheri |first4=Yasaman |last5=Shaheen |first5=Shabnum |last6=Kregiel |first6=Dorota |last7=Antolak |first7=Hubert |last8=Pawlikowska |first8=Ewelina |last9=Brdar-Jokanović |first9=Milka |last10=Rajkovic |first10=Jovana |last11=Hosseinabadi |first11=Tahereh |last12=Ljevnaić-Mašić |first12=Branka |last13=Baghalpour |first13=Navid |last14=Mohajeri |first14=Maryam |last15=Fokou |first15=Patrick Valere Tsouh |last16=Martins |first16=Natália |title=Malva species: Insights on its chemical composition towards pharmacological applications |journal=Phytotherapy Research |date=11 November 2019 |doi=10.1002/ptr.6550}}

M. parviflora accumulates pollutants such as cadmium and chromium. In nitrogen-rich soils,{{cite web |title=Foraged Mallow (Cheeseweed) |url=https://specialtyproduce.com/produce/Foraged_Mallow_Cheeseweed_10423.php |website=Specialty Produce |access-date=31 May 2024}} the plant's leaves and seeds can be toxic to cattle and poultry due to an accumulation of nitrates. If consumed in large amounts, the plant can damage energy homeostasis in horses, possibly due to its cyclopropene fatty acids.

The entire plant is edible and can be eaten both raw and cooked. It has a mild flavor similar to chard and a mild, earthy aroma.

M. parviflora has been used in infusions, decoctions, and poultices as part of traditional medicine.{{Cite web |url=http://www.floraiberica.es/floraiberica/texto/pdfs/03_060_09_Malva.pdf |title=Malva |website=Flora Iberica |access-date=2024-05-20}} In Mexico, M. parviflora is consumed as a quelite and used in traditional medicine to treat wounds and problems with digestion.{{Cite web |url=http://132.248.9.195/ptd2005/00322/0343654/Index.html |title=Análisis biodirigido de Malva parviflora para validar su uso tradicional como auxiliar en el tratamiento de la gastritis |date=2005-04-29 |access-date=2024-05-20 |last=Mendiola Almaraz |first=Lorena}} In the 20th century, naturalist {{ill|Alfonso Herrera Fernández|lt=Alfonso Herrera Fernández|es|Alfonso Herrera Fernández}} noted that the dried leaves were used in moisturizing poultices and that the flowers were used in infusions to induce perspiration.{{Cite web |url=http://www.medicinatradicionalmexicana.unam.mx/apmtm/termino.php?l=3&t=malva-parviflora |title=Malva |website=Biblioteca digital de la medicina tradicional mexicana |language=Spanish |access-date=2024-05-20}} Particularly in Zapotitlán, Puebla, the roots are used in infusions to treat dysentery. In Jordan, the leaves are used in infusions and poultices as an emollient, laxative, carminative, and anti-hemorrhoid. In Lebanon, the leaves are used in decoctions to treat catarrhs, kidney infections, kidney stones, respiratory infections, and constipation. In Ethiopia, the roots are used to treat asthma and wounds.

Few clinical trials have tested the efficacy of M. parviflora's traditional uses. Preclinical studies have found that extracts from various parts of the plant have antimicrobial and antifungal properties. However, this effect is usually weaker than that of standard antibiotics. The roots and leaves have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The plant may have an anti-diabetic effect, but the effect's strength is disputed. In mice, M. parviflora extracts have shown potential to treat hypertension and Alzheimer's.

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 16.jpg|Plant, can become tall

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 01.jpg|Plant from above showing leaves, flowers, fruits

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 12.jpg|Flower white or pinky, petals gappy, approx same size as sepals, no hairs at petal bases

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 07.jpg|Flower within, showing staminal column and no petal hairs

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 04.jpg|Maturing, 5-part sepals enlarge around like plate, fruit segments with wrinkled tops and wavy raised junctions (immature may look smooth)

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 13.jpg|Fruit more mature

File:Malva_parviflora_M2.JPG|Fruit very mature, showing prominent wavy wings and wavy surfaces

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 17.jpg|Fruits, on short stalks, not curving downward

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 05.jpg|Sepals broad from the side, epicalyx 3 narrow strips at base

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 08.jpg|Flower from side showing large 5-part calyx, and 3 filamenty epicalyx coming from base

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 09.jpg|Hairs mostly stellate (star-shaped)

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 14.jpg|Large leaf

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 11.jpg|Leaf upperside

File:Malva parviflora in Antalya by David Merrick 10.jpg|Leaf underside

==References==

{{Reflist|30em}}

• {{Commons-inline}}
• {{cite web | url=http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/vrrc/?page=view&id=30110 | publisher=Neotropical Herbarium Specimens | title=Malva parviflora | access-date=2008-06-20 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303181938/http://fm1.fieldmuseum.org/vrrc/?page=view&id=30110 | archive-date=2016-03-03 | url-status=dead }}
• [https://www.gbif.org/species/3152378 GBIF: Occurrence data for Malva parviflora]
• [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_JM_treatment.pl?5042,5084,5087 Jepson Manual Treatment]
• [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=MAPA5 USDA Plants Profile]
• {{CalPhotos|Malva|parviflora}}
• {{Calflora}}
• {{PFAF|Malva parviflora}}

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parviflora

Category:Flora of the Arabian Peninsula

Category:Flora of the Caucasus

Category:Flora of Chad

Category:Flora of Lebanon

Category:Flora of Macaronesia

Category:Flora of Malta

Category:Flora of Mauritania

Category:Flora of the Mediterranean basin

Category:Flora of Niger

Category:Flora of Northeast Tropical Africa

Category:Flora of Western Asia

Category:Plants described in 1753

Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus