The
photo at right shows the leaves and flower of dwarf mallow as seen on a sandy
beach above the high water mark at The Dalles Riverside Park...........August
26, 2001.
Dwarf mallow is a spreading annual or biennial with several to many freely branched stems from 20-60 cm high. The stems and leaves are glabrous to sparsely haired. The leaf blades are kidney-shaped with heart-shaped bases. The blades average 1.5-4 cm long and are slightly 5-7 lobed. The margins are lined with rounded to acute teeth. The leaf petioles measure from 5-15 cm long.
1-3 flowers are found in each of the upper leaf axils. The flowers are pale bluish-lavender, pink or nearly white. The calyx measures 1/4- 1/2 the length of the corolla and is shallowly lobed. The corolla is broadly funnel-shaped and measures about 10-12 mm long. Each lobe of the corolla bears a shallow notch at the tip.
A weedy species, dwarf mallow may be found in disturbed, waste areas.
Introduced from Europe, dwarf mallow may now be found over much of the United States.