Althaea cannabina

Althaea cannabina reaches on average 40–200 centimetres (16–79 in) of height. The stem is erect, cylindrical, pubescent and very branched. Lower leaves are petiolate, hairy and almost completely subdivided in three-five segments, linear or linear-lanceolate, toothed or lobed, up to 2 centimetres (0.79 in) wide and 8 centimetres (3.1 in) long. The upper leaves are simply lobed and toothed. The flowers are solitary or in clusters and grow in the axils of the leaves, on long pedicels up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) or on long peduncles up to 20 centimetres (7.9 in). They are usually pink or reddish-purple and heart-shaped, 8–10 millimetres (0.31–0.39 in) wide and 13–15 millimetres (0.51–0.59 in) long, with purple-red stamens. The flowering period extends from July through September.

Althaea cannabina grows wild in central and southern Europe and in the Mediterranean Basin, from Portugal, north Africa and east to Turkey - except Balearic Islands, Corsica, Crete and Chipre - up to central Asia.[2]

These plants grow at an altitude of 0–800 metres (0–2,625 ft) above sea level. They prefer coastal thickets, forest edges, meadows, weedy places, roads, wasteland, pastures and parks, especially with rocky and calcareous soils.

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