Malva verticillata (Chinese mallow, "Fuyuaoi")

Japanese name: フユアオイ （冬葵）
Scientific name: Malva verticillata

[Overview]
An annual to biennial about 1 m tall.
The stem is erect and somewhat fleshy.
The leaves are alternate, round, and shallowly 5–7-lobed.
The leaf margins are toothed.
The leaves have long stalks.
Several pale pink-tinged flowers with 5 petals, about 1 cm across, are borne together in the leaf axils.

[History]
It was introduced as a vegetable in the Edo period.

[Uses]
The leaves are eaten, and the seeds are used medicinally.

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