Hollyhock

Hollyhock is a beautiful flower with five petals overlapping each other to form a tubular base of the flower. The flower is mostly of attractive colors such as maroon, red, pink and white with central stamens growing out which makes the flower more beautiful. The petals of the flower spread wide to form a wide cup with their base connecting to the center of the cup which is generally white in color. The flowers grow close to each other on the plant making it look like a beautiful bunch of flowers on the stem of the plant. There are about 60 species of the flowering plant. The plant is 4 to 6 feet in height and 9 to 12 inches in width. The leaves of the plant are pale colored, large and grown at the base of the plant. The spikes of the flower are long and grow from the base of the leaves. The flower may bloom upto 3 to 5 inches in diameter. The petals of the flower are single or double. The seeds of the plant are flat and coin shaped with half inch in diameter. They grow easily wherever they fall.
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Common Names: Hollyhock
Family: Malvaceae (mallow family)
Genus: Alcea
Species: rosea
Type: Biennials
Foliage: Herbaceous, Velvet or Fuzzy Textured
Bloom Time: Mid Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall
Bloom Color: Shades of Pink, Flesh, Rose-Pink, Salmon-Rose, Golden-Yellow, Canary-Yellow, Dark Red, Purple-Crimson, Dark Maroon, White, Black, Dark Purple, Apricot, Lemon Yellow and various combinations of these colors

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Commonly Found: These flowers are commonly found in the countries like India, Southwest and Central Asia and Japan and China.

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Uses: The flowers of the Hollyhock plant are especially grown in the gardens for their attractive features and ornamental looks. The flowers grow on a long stem which makes them look ornamental and decorative for the vase.

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Synonyms: Alcea chater, Althaea rosea

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Photos and information on this page are contributed by Aarti Khale and Nishidha respectively.

Back to Flowers of India

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Cultivars: The list of cultivars of the Alcea rosea species is given below