Pink Velvet-bush
Tip
Murray Mallee Region
Australian Hollyhock
Flower
 
                      
Australian Hollyhock (Malva weinmanniana)Class: Plants (Plantae) - Land Plants (Charophyta) - Land Plants (Equisetopsida)
Order: Hibisci (Malvales)
Family: Mallow (Malvaceae)
Species: Australian Hollyhock (Malva weinmanniana)
This Photo:     Whole
Synonym: Lavatera plebeia
Other name: Inland Austral Hollyhock

General Species Information:
Found in the Murray Mallee SA and possibly elsewhere
There is some confusion over the botanical name, but it's clear this is no longer called M. preissiana. As such, the 2010 Murraylands survey is refering to this plant, which is the Inland form, not coastal.
Dr. Peter Lang said "The new treatment was published in 2012 in J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 25, 17-25 and supersedes the 2007 paper.
The reference to pink flower colour in the title of the paper ("Malva weinmanniana (Besser ex Rchb.) Conran, a new name for the pink-flowered form of M. preissiana Schltdl. (Malvaceae)" is misleading. Unfortunately the paper did not take account of the fact that some forms of M. weinmanniana (with the characteristic wider flower spacing and reduced leaf tomentum on the upper surface) have white or extremely pale pink flowers.
Here is the relevant key from that paper. Note that flower colour isn't included as one of the key characters to separate out M. weinmanniana in the first couplet).
1.a. Leaves well-spaced along stems, upper surface much less tomentose than lower ->
    Malva weinmanniana
1.b. Leaves crowded together on stems and densely tomentose on both surfaces->2
2.a. Flowers deep cerise pink with a dark purple to black centre->
    Malva arborea
2.b. Flowers white to pale pink with a pale centre->3
3.a. Epicalyx lobes shorter than the calyx lobes->
    Malva preissiana
3.b. Epicalyx lobes and calyx lobes of similar length->
    Malva arborea x M. preissiana"

Copyright © 2011-2024 Brett & Marie Smith. All Rights Reserved. Photographed 01-Sep-2011
This species is classed as LC (Least Concern) in the Murray Mallee, SA, by DENR (Regional Species Status Assessments, July 2010)