Cheeseweed
Malva parviflora
Growing as a weed in a vegetable garden at Eldoret, Kenya. December 2012.
HERB: If good growing conditions persist, this often small herb, can
reach a meter or more tall with a woody base. The roots contain a mucilaginous
material that has been used in foods such as marshmallow.
FLOWERS: The small flowers are rarely noticed, open just briefly, and
are often concealed below the leaves. There are five pink or white petals
surrounding the stamen tube.
LEAVES: The leaves appear to have been folded into a fan. Five or so
lobes give the leaf a hand-like shape in outline, i.e. palmate.
RANGE: Grows during the moist temperate seasons. Native to northern
Africa, Asia and Europe and introduced pretty much all over, often as a
troublesome weed.
FRUIT: The fruit is shaped like a cheese wheel, and maybe this is the
source of the common name.
UNARMED.