Malvaceae FAMILY

Malvaviscus arboreus

Edibility

2/5

Medicinal

2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Botanical Description

Malvaviscus arboreus is a deciduous shrub or a small tree that usually grows 1 - 5 metres tall, occasionally reaching 10 metres. It is usually about as wide as it is tall. The plant often produces suckers and also spreads by self-layering, it can form dense thickets[ 270 Title Flora of N. America Publication Author Website http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/fna/ Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An on-line version of the flora with an excellent description of the plant including a brief mention of plant uses. , 1093 Title Invasive Species Compendium Publication Author Website http://www.cabi.org Publisher Year 0 ISBN Description An immense resource - in depth information on over 900 species of invasive plants (it also has information on animals, fungi etc). ]. The plant is harvested from the wild for local use as a medicine, food and source of materials. Grown as an ornamental in gardens, it is a rather handsome plant when in full flower because of its showy, bright red corollas, but the flowers usually are not produced in great abundance.

Habitat & Origin

Origintropical

Native RangeNorthern S. America - northern Colombia, through Central America to central Mexico; Caribbean - Trinidad, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas

HabitatWet to dry thickets or forest, often in roadside hedges or in waste ground; at elevations up to 2,500 metres[ 331 Title Flora of Guatemala Publication Author Standley P.C. & J. A. Steyermark Website http://www.archive.org/ Publisher Year 1946 - 1976 ISBN Description A superb reference, though somewhat dated. Gives lots of plant uses as well as information on plant habit and habitat. The entire flora (13 volumes) can now be downloaded from http://www.archive.org/ ].