Malva nicaeensis
Introduction '''''Malva nicaeensis''''' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names '''bull mallow''' and '''French mallow'''.
Description ''Malva nicaeensis'' is an annual or biennial herb producing a hairy, upright stem up to 60 centimeters long. The leaves are up to 12 centimeters wide and have several slight lobes along the edges.Flowers appear in the leaf axils, each with pinkish to light purple petals around a centimeter long. The disc-shaped fruit has several segments.
Plant uses and properties In the Levant, mallows grow profusely after the first winter rains. The leaves and stems are edible, and are widely collected by indigenous peoples for food, as they make an excellent garnish when chopped and fried in olive-oil with onions and spices. In Israel, the plant is renowned for having fed the besieged Jewish population in the 1948 Battle for Jerusalem, its use similar to spinach. A particularly famous preparation are the Khubeza patties. Apicius, a collection of Roman cookery recipes, mentions garum being used as a fish stock to flavor cooked mallows.
Botanical gallery File:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 21.jpg|Plant form, generalFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 24.jpg|Plant form closerFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 01.jpg|Epicalyx 3 broad segments, lacking stellate hairsFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 18.jpg|Flower, pinky with bold veins, may be palerFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 11.jpg|Flower showing calyx with 5 broad parts, epicalyx with 3 broad parts, sparsely hairy with simple hairsFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 03.jpg|Flower, petals without hairs, or with little, at centreFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 22.jpg|Central stigmaFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 30.jpg|Petal, no hairs or scarcely soFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 12.jpg|Fruit, lightly hairy (may be hairless), showing wrinklesFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 06.jpg|Fruit, very hairy formFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 14.jpg|Flowers showing features togetherFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 28.jpg|BractsFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 07.jpg|Plant areaFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 08.jpg|Leafage areaFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 15.jpg|LeafFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 13.jpg|Leaf uppersideFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 09.jpg|Leaf undersideFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 16.jpg|Hairs generally simple with conspicuous bulbous bases (as M. sylvestris)File:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 27.jpg|Plant baseFile:Malva nicaeensis in Antalya by David Merrick 31.jpg|Plant base
References
External links * *  Jepson Manual Treatment* * *