Malva verticillataL.

cluster mallow

WFO wfo-0000449601 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Malva verticillata, photographed by Patrick Hacker
fig. a Patrick Hacker, CC BY 4.0 / 2021-10-29 / obs. 166467917
Malva verticillata, photographed by Christian Berg
fig. b Christian Berg, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 73953601
Malva verticillata, photographed by Юлия
fig. c Юлия, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 89595298
Malva verticillata, photographed by Юлия
fig. d Юлия, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 194336932
Malva verticillata, photographed by Юлия
fig. e Юлия, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 165780733
Malva verticillata, photographed by Юлия
fig. f Юлия, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 161265101
Malva verticillata, photographed by Юлия
fig. g Юлия, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 158813431
Malva verticillata, photographed by Юлия
fig. h Юлия, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 171053944

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 37 botanical countries

Regions where Malva verticillata is native: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Afghanistan, Altay, Amur, Buryatiya, China North-Central, China South-Central, China Southeast, Chita, Inner Mongolia, Irkutsk, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Korea, Krasnoyarsk, Lebanon-Syria, Manchuria, Mongolia, Primorye, Qinghai, Saudi Arabia, Tibet, West Siberia, Xinjiang, Yakutiya, Yemen, Assam, Bangladesh, East Himalaya, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, West Himalaya EritreaEthiopiaSomaliaSudan-South SudanAfghanistanAltayAmurBuryatiyaChina North-CentralChina South-CentralChina SoutheastChitaInner MongoliaIrkutskKazakhstanKirgizstanKrasnoyarskLebanon-SyriaManchuriaMongoliaPrimoryeQinghaiSaudi ArabiaTibetWest SiberiaXinjiangYakutiyaYemenAssamBangladeshEast HimalayaIndiaMyanmarNepalPakistanWest Himalaya Korea
Native distribution of Malva verticillata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Afghanistan AFG ASIA-TEMPERATE
Altay ALT
Amur AMU
Buryatiya BRY
China North-Central CHN
China South-Central CHC
China Southeast CHS
Chita CTA
Inner Mongolia CHI
Irkutsk IRK
Kazakhstan KAZ
Kirgizstan KGZ
Korea KOR
Krasnoyarsk KRA
Lebanon-Syria LBS
Manchuria CHM
Mongolia MON
Primorye PRM
Qinghai CHQ
Saudi Arabia SAU
Tibet CHT
West Siberia WSB
Xinjiang CHX
Yakutiya YAK
Yemen YEM
Assam ASS ASIA-TROPICAL
Bangladesh BAN
East Himalaya EHM
India IND
Myanmar MYA
Nepal NEP
Pakistan PAK
West Himalaya WHM
Eritrea ERI AFRICA
Ethiopia ETH
Somalia SOM
Sudan-South Sudan SUD

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 26 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Althaea crispa (L.) Alef.
  • Althaea verticillata (L.) Alef.
  • Malva abyssinica A.Braun
  • Malva alchemillifolia Wall.
  • Malva brevifolia Gilib.
  • Malva chinensis Mill.
  • Malva crispa (L.) L.
  • Malva glomerata G.Don
  • Malva hybrida hort. ex Steud.
  • Malva meluca Graebn. ex P.Medw.
  • Malva meluca Graebn. ex Medw.
  • Malva mohileviensis Down.
  • Malva montana Forssk.
  • Malva neilgherrensis Wight
  • Malva nepalensis hort. ex Steud.
  • Malva olitoria Nakai
  • Malva pulchella Bernh.
  • Malva pulchella hort. ex Colla
  • Malva pulchella var. abyssinica (A.Braun) Hedl.
  • Malva pulchella var. microphylla Hedl.
  • Malva verticillata subsp. chinensis (Mill.) Tzvelev
  • Malva verticillata subsp. crispa (L.) Tzvelev
  • Malva verticillata subsp. pulchella (Bernh.) Tzvelev
  • Malva verticillata var. chinensis (Mill.) S.Y.Hu

and 2 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.