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Discover Naure: Hairy Rose Mallow

A tiny green bee flies into the wide, white papery petals of a hairy rose mallow flower with a deep red center.
Hairy rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos) is blooming this week near lakes, ponds, sloughs, streams, and wet lowlands. One of the largest native Missouri wildflowers, these ornate blooms attract pollinators, and deep roots help purify water.

This week on Discover Nature, find a spot to escape the summer heat in a pond or pool of a cool stream, and you may find one of the largest wildflowers in Missouri.

 

Hairy rose mallow (Hibiscus lasiocarpos) produces flowers that resemble hibiscus, with five white- or rose-colored, papery petals, and a central wine-purple spot. The tall, perennial herb sometimes develops woody stalks and can grow to eight-feet in height. 

 

Look for these ornate blooms from July to October in borders of lakes and ponds, sloughs, swamps, ditches, and wet lowlands. The plant is also a good native choice for rain gardens and wet borders, where its roots work to purify water and prevent flooding. 

 

Ducks and quail eat the plant’s seeds, bees visit the flowers, and caterpillars of several butterflies and skippers feed on the leaves. 

 

Many of its relatives in the mallow family are economically important to people, too, including okra, and cotton. 

 

Learn more about hairy rose mallow and other Missouri wildflowers in bloom this week, with the Missouri Department of Conservation’s online Field Guide

 

Discover Nature is sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Kyle Felling was born in the rugged northwest Missouri hamlet of St. Joseph (where the Pony Express began and Jesse James ended). Inspired from a young age by the spirit of the early settlers who used St. Joseph as an embarkation point in their journey westward, Kyle developed the heart of an explorer and yearned to leave for adventures of his own. Perhaps as a result of attending John Glenn elementary school, young Kyle dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but was disheartened when someone told him that astronauts had to be good at math. He also considered being a tow truck driver, and like the heroes of his favorite childhood television shows (The A-Team and The Incredible Hulk) he saw himself traveling the country, helping people in trouble and getting into wacky adventures. He still harbors that dream.
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