A mallow sort of a day

As soon as she saw it, she who knows almost all there is to know about weeds and flowers in Australia (i.e. Paladian), it was declared to be “a mallow of some kind – and a weed”!

My research bears this out. It’s a native of Asia, Northern Africa and Europe, and is widely naturalised over much of the rest of the world.

It looked like an interesting garden plant to me, but sad to say, it has been declared a weed in South Australia. Here’s a bit more info:

. A biennial herb with a single taproot, 60 cms high, semi upright.
. Stems are branched, prostrate or erect, purplish in colour. Leaves are alternate, dull dark green, variable in size, rounded 7-lobed blade at the end of a stiff stalk.
. Flowers on short stalks, in small groups in leaf forks, white or very pale pink/lilac, spring to early summer. Fruit is button shaped, flatish, round and wrinkled on the upper surface, in autumn.
. Native to Europe, now a weed in all States of Australia, found in temperate and sub-tropical areas, around buildings, roadsides, etc. Most poisonings (sheep in particular) seem to occur between July and October.

I still think it’s a very attractive plant, brought a cutting home from the park, but I guess I won’t get Paladian to plant it in our garden any time soon!

Clearer stamens.