Kingdom Plantae Family Malvaceae Scientific name Malva canariensis Rank Species | Order Malvales Genus Lavatera Higher classification Tree mallows | |
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Similar Tree mallows, Mallows, Lavatera phoenicea, Convolvulus floridus, Malva subovata | ||
Lavatera acerifolia, the malva de risco (Malvaceae, Malveae), is a shrub endemic to the Canary Islands. It grows in the basal parts of the islands, in a dry, sunny, environment. It loves nitrogen rich soils, specially those a bit ruderalized.
It is pollinated by insects, specially by bees and Bombus.
This endemism has a Mediterranean origin and it is more recent than the other endemics to the Canary Islands, Navaea phoenicea, which colonized the islands earlier and independently from Lavatera acerifolia. Its closest relative is not known as there are some incongruences between chloroplastic and nuclear molecular markers.
The species is abundant and there are no threats against natural populations.
References
Lavatera acerifolia Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA