Unknown #46
Unknown # 46

View of leaves and upper side of flower.

View of lower side of flower.

The schizocarp fruits of cheeseweed, another member of the mallow family (Malvaceae). This common and prolific naturalized weed appears during the spring in southern California. Each wheel-shaped fruit splits into a number of wedge-shaped, indehiscent, one-seeded sections called mericarps. The common name cheeseweed is derived from the shape of the fruit that supposedly resembles a wheel of cheese (with some imagination).

Key Traits Necessary To Identify This Species:

fl = flower   fr = fruit   pl = plant   lf = leaf   gen = generally   see JM p. 27

  1. One pistil (gynoecium) with many threadlike stigmas.
  2. Perianth in 2 whorls (5 separate petals and 5 fused sepals).
  3. Petals separate, free to the base.
  4. Ovary superior (hypogynous), above the attachment of petals & sepals.
  5. Stamens more than 2x petals (more than twice the number of petals ( > 10).
  6. Ovary chamber 2-many.
  7. Plant terrestrial (not aquatic).
  8. Flowers bisexual (with female gynoecium and male androecium).
  9. Stamen filaments fused into sheath around style.
  10. Flowers with radial symmetry (petals and sepals similar in size & shape).
  11. Fruit separating into seed-bearing sections (not a true capsule).
  12. Stigmas linear (threadlike).
  13. Anthers extending about half way down the filament tube (sheath).
  14. Three fused bracts below calyx.
  15. Petals with conspicuous dark veins.

Note: This shrub is a cultivated ornamental commonly planted in southern California. It does not match the species choices in the Jepson Manual. Although it is closely related to the native California species L. assurrgentiflora, it appears to be the Mediterranean species L. maritima listed in the Sunset Western Garden Book. This is probably the cultivated hybrid 'bicolor.' The name is often listed as Lavatera aff maritima 'Bicolor.' The abbreviation aff means that this cultivated hybrid has an affinity with the species L. maritima. For the name of this unknown, use maritima for the specific epithet and Gouan for the author. The family, genus and common name can be obtained from your Jepson Manual.

The native California L. assurgentiflora that is similar to your unknown.

Cotton rose (Hibiscus mutabilis), a beautiful shrub native to China. In the genus Hibiscus, the ovary develops into a capsule containing many seeds, unlike the schizocarp fruits of Lavatera and Malva. The five style branches each terminate in a capitate stigma. There are at least 200 species of Hibiscus, including some rare endemics in the Hawaiian Islands.

The seed capsule of cotton rose (Hibiscus mutabilis), a beautiful shrub native to China. In the genus Hibiscus, the ovary develops into a capsule containing many seeds, unlike the schizocarp fruits of Lavatera and Malva. Each seed is covered with fine hairs. In fact, the genus Hibiscus is closely related to the genus Gossypium (cotton). In Gossypium, the seeds are covered with long epidermal hairs that are spun into cotton thread.

See Beach Hibiscus: A Textile Plant
  See Flower of Another Beach Hibiscus  
See The Seed Capsule (Boll) of Cotton

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