Saltmarsh Mallow

Rose pink saltmarsh mallow (Kosteletzkya virginica) flowers brighten Atlantic and Gulf Coast marshes from midsummer to early fall.

Delicate blooms two to three inches across overpower the hairy perennial's roughness and the grey-green of its leaves.

Flowers mature into a 5-angled fruit that is covered with stiff bristles and contains up to 5, smooth, dark brown seeds.

Kosteletzkya virginica belongs to the same family as cotton, hibiscus, okra, hollyhock and the Rose-of-Sharon.

Salt-marsh mallow leaves are three to seven inches long and triangular. The leaf stalk is attached to the at the widest end. Leaves may vary in shape.

They prefer brackish water and grow three to five feet in height.

The marshmallow for which marshmallow candy is named (Althaea officinalis or common marshmallow) is in the same family and also grows in a marsh.

Otherwise, candy making is apparently not a part of Kosteletzkya virginica's history.

Their flowers are lovely, helping make Kosteletzkya virginica the Virginia Native Plant Society's wildflower of the year in 2004.

Taxonomic Classification

• Superdivision: Spermatophyta (seed plants)
• Division: Magnoliophyta (flowering plants)
• Class: Magnoliopsida (primitive flowering plants)
• Subclass: Dilleniidae
• Order: Malvales
• Family: Malvaceae (Mallow family)
• Genus: Kosteletzkya K. Presl - kosteletzkya
• Species: Kosteletzkya virginica (L.) K. Presl ex Gray - Virginia saltmarsh mallow
• Common names: Virginia saltmarsh mallow, Virginia saltmarsh willow, Virginia fen-rose and seashore mallow.

References

Integrated Taxonomic Information System entry for Virginia saltmarsh mallow.

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center salt marsh-mallow page