Common Mallow

Malva sylvestris

Please keep in mind that it is illegal to uproot a plant without the landowner's consent and care should be taken at all times not to damage wild plants. Wild plants should never be picked for pleasure and some plants are protected by law.
For more information please download the BSBI Code of Conduct PDF document.

Plant Data

Flowering Months:

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Order:

Malvales

Family:

Malvaceae (Mallow)

Also in this family:

Common Lime, Crimean Lime, Garden Mallow, Musk Mallow, Tree Mallow

Type:

Flower

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Maximum Size:

150 centimetres tall

Habitats:

Farmland, gardens, grassland, hedgerows, roadsides, seaside, wasteland.

Flower:

Pink, 5 petals

Pinkish-purple with dark veins, up to 4cm. 5 notched petals. Flower stalks are slender.

Fruit:

Round, flat, cheese-like wedges (nutlets) in 10 to 20 sections. This flower is sometimes called 'cheeseweed' because of the shape of its fruit. The fruit are also net-veined and sharp-edged.

Leaves:

The leaves are palmately lobed, toothed and stalked.

Other Names:

Blue Mallow, Bread-and-cheese, Cheese Cakes, Cheese Flower, Cheese Plant, Cheeses, Cheeseweed, Country Mallow, Creeping Charlie, High Mallow, Hock, Hock Herb, Low Mallow, Marsh Mallow, Mauls, Maws, Pick-cheese, Round Dock, Tall Mallow, Wild Mallow, Wood Mallow.

Frequency (UK):

Common

Distribution Map

Reproduced by kind permission of the BSBI.

Click to open an Interactive Map