Japanese name: ゼニバアオイ（銭葉葵） Scientific name:Malva neglecta
[Overview]
A biennial or perennial 30–60 cm tall, found along roadsides and on vacant lots.
The stems creep along the ground and spread.
The leaves are alternate, round to kidney-shaped, 3–5 cm wide, and shallowly divided into 5–7 lobes.
The lobe tips are rounded, the margins have blunt teeth, and the leaf surface is sparsely hairy.
They have long petioles, which bear sparse upward-pointing hairs.
The flower stalks extending from the leaf axils bear white to pale pink 5-petaled flowers about 1.5 cm across.
The petal tips are shallowly notched.
The fruit is flat, 6 mm across, divided into 12–15 mericarps, densely hairy, and the reticulate veins remain indistinct even when ripe.
The calyx does not enclose the fruit.
[History]
In 1958 it was first reported growing wild at Koishikawa Botanical Garden, and it has since become naturalized in various places.
