Definitions for "Malvaceae"
Keywords:  mallow, shrubs, okra, showy, herbs
A natural family of herbs and shrubs and some trees, including the mallows, cotton, and okra; the mallow family.
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing a number of genera, generally with five showy petals and five green sepals and numerous stamens that are fused at the base and form a tube around the pistil. Most species are herbs or shrubs but some species are trees. There are over 100 genera with close to 1,500 species in the family depending on the classification of some of the genera.