Common Mallow - Malva sylvestris

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Description

Medium to tall, hairy plant to 1.5 metres, but often with sprawling stems. Leaves kidney shaped to rounded-heart-shaped in outline with 3 to 7 shallow, rather rounded toothed lobes. Flowers pink to purple with darker veins. 20 to 50 mm in clusters of 2 or more at the leaf axils.

Identification difficulty
Habitat

Meadows , road verges and waste places.

When to see it

June to September.

Life History

Biennial.

UK Status

Fairly common throughout Britain, though less so in Scotland.

VC55 Status

Fairly common in Leicestershire and Rutland. In the 1979 Flora survey of Leicestershire it was found in 368 of the 617 tetrads.

  • Ron.stevens
    Broughton Astley
    15 June 2011
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    19 June 2006
  • Alan Semper
    Harby roadside
    16 July 2013
  • Graham Calow
    Croft
    26 June 2014
  • David Nicholls
    Kirby Muxloe Castle
    13 September 2013
  • David Nicholls
    Kirby Muxloe Castle
    13 September 2013

Leicestershire & Rutland Map

MAP KEY:

Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
Coloured circles = NatureSpot records: 2020+ | 2015-2019 | pre-2015

UK Map

Species data profile ?

Species profile

Common names
Common Mallow
Species group:
Wildflowers
Kingdom:
Plantae
Order:
Malvales
Family:
Malvaceae
Records on NatureSpot:
254
First record:
19/06/2006 (Calow, Graham)
Last record:
06/09/2024 (Nicholls, David)

Total records by month

% of records within its species group

10km squares with records

The latest images and records displayed below include those awaiting verification checks so we cannot guarantee that every identification is correct. Once accepted, the record displays a green tick.

In the Latest Records section, click on the header to sort A-Z, and again to sort Z-A. Use the header boxes to filter the list.

Latest images

Latest records

  • David Nicholls
    Ratby Church
    19 September 2013
  • Ron.stevens
    Broughton Astley
    15 June 2011
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    24 June 2013
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    30 June 2008
  • Barbara Cooper
    Long Clawson
    21 June 2012
  • Alan Semper
    Harby, Stathern La
    27 June 2012
  • Alan Semper
    Harby, Stathern La
    27 June 2012
  • Ruth Dring
    Broughton Astley
    27 August 2012
  • Graham Calow
    Sapcote
    24 June 2013
  • Alan Semper
    Bottesford riverside path
    20 July 2013
  • Alan Semper
    Harby roadside
    16 July 2013
  • David Nicholls
    Ratby
    19 June 2014
  • Lostash
    Whetstone Fields
    15 June 2014
  • David Nicholls
    Croft
    09 May 2014
Photo of the association

Malvapion malvae

1.8 to 2.4mm.  This small weevil feeds on Mallows, especially on waste ground or brownfield sites. It is orange-brown with yellow-orange legs and covered in a dense pubescence.