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Glite Dictionary
Malvaceae

Malvaceae

1 9.9
A group of flowering plants like hibiscus, cotton, and okra
  • noun
  • /mælˈveɪʃiː/
  • Specialized
: Malvaceae
  • Gardeners often choose flowers from the Malvaceae family for their vibrant blooms.
  • Malvaceae family
  • belongs to the Malvaceae

Examples

  • The Malvaceae family includes several important crops, such as cotton and okra.

  • Alcea rosea (AR) is an ornamental plant belonging to Malvaceae.

    Academic text (2017)

  • Hibiscus and abutilon are popular plants that belong to the Malvaceae family.

Synonyms

mallow family
vsMalvaceae
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A family of flowering plants like cotton and okra

is the formal scientific name for the same plant family

Surface Forms

Malvaceae singular
Malvaceas plural

Morphology

Malvaceae = mallow (semi-transparent) = malv + aceae

The element 'malv-' is identifiable as 'mallow', but '-aceae' is a specialized Latin botanical family suffix not familiar to general learners.

Etymology

Malvaceae comes from the Latin malva meaning 'mallow', the name for a group of soft, often pretty plants. A helpful way to remember it is the sweet 'marshmallow', which long ago was made from the mallow plant. So the ending -aceae marks a plant family, and Malvaceae is simply the 'mallow' family that includes hibiscus, cotton and okra.