Malva multiflora

Cretan mallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Cretan mallow is a naturalized annual found in coastal central and southern California regions in disturbed places on coastal bluffs and dunes, occasionally inland, at elevations below 50 meters. Flowering throughout the year, this plant produces white to pale pink flowers with three dark veins, 1 to 1.6 centimeters long. Growing 1 to 3 meters tall with woody or non-woody bases, it has sparsely stellate hairy stems that spread across the landscape. Its leaves have blades 4 to 10 centimeters long, shallowly 5-lobed above, with crenate edges and bases ranging from truncate to slightly heart-shaped. The fruit consists of 7 to 10 segments that are generally cross-ridged and either glabrous or lightly puberulent.

Habitat: Disturbed places on coastal bluffs, dunes, occasionally inland

Bloom period: All year

Elevation: < 50 m

Bioregions: CCo, SCo

California counties: Ventura, Orange, Santa Clara, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Contra Costa, Alameda, San Francisco, Butte, San Joaquin, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, San Mateo, Marin, Monterey

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.