lavatera

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of malvaceous plants of the tribe Malveæ, subtribe Eumalveæ. It is closely related to Malva, the true mallows, but differs from that genus in having from 6 to 9 bractlets under the flowers (these being united at the base), and in the projecting; and dilated carpels. There are over 20 species, chiefly natives of the Mediterranean region and western Europe, but 2 occur on the Canary Islands, 1 in central Asia, and 1 in Australia. They are tomentose or hirsute herbs, shrubs, or small trees, with angled or lohed leaves, and variously colored flowers, either solitary in the axils or in terminal racemes. L. arborea, the best-known species, is the tree-mallow or sea-mallow of Europe, which grows wild on the rocky coasts from Spain to Scotland. In cultivation it attains a height of 8 or 10 feet. It has pale purple-red flowers in long racemes at the ends of the annually flowering branches. It contains an abundance of mucilaginous matter, and yields a poor fiber. In common with other soft leafed malvaceous plants, it is sometimes called velvetleaf. Nearly all the species of this genus are sometimes cultivated.

Wiktionary

1. n. botany Any of the genus Lavatera of malvaceous flowering plants.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A widespread genus of herbs or soft-wooded arborescent shrubs cultivated for their showy flowers.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. widespread genus of herbs or softwood arborescent shrubs cultivated for their showy flowers