Wax mallow isn’t a common shrub here in Sydney, and it is one that I have only seen in one place as a bit of a weed (never as part of an intentionally planted garden design). The only reason that I spotted it was the bright red flowers among the green leaves of the many plants around it.

Wax mallow is native to central and South America. It is a shrub that can reach generally five metres tall and is roughly as wide. It is often found in dense thickets as it can produce suckers and spreads by layering naturally. The word Malvaviscus comes from two Latin words-malva meaning mallow and viscidus that means sticky. Arboreus means woody or tree-like.

The leaves are on a petiole (leaf stalk) that is up to 70mm long. The lamina (leaf blade) is ovate in shape, has wavy margins and between 90-160mm long. There are scattered white hairs on the leaves too.

The flowers appear from the leaf axils as a single flower. The calyx and epicalyx are both green while the corrolla is the delightful red colour. The fruit follows, which is fleshy and also red and up to 30mm in diameter.

Its native habitat is in thickets or forest (either wet or dry), in hedges or in waste ground up to 2500 metres above sea level. It isn’t a cold hardy species-it prefers a temperature range of 12-25 degrees Celsius, while rainfall should be between 1000-3500mm annually. Wax mallow prefers full sun and grows well enough in semi-shade, but doesn’t flower as well.

There are several uses for wax mallow. The fruit is often eaten raw-apparently only by kids though, as I’ve read that adults don’t find the flavour very good. There are several medicinal uses (although, I can’t say give them a go-please see a doctor if you have any medical problems), including liniments for dressing burns, emollients and also decoctions used to treat bronchitis and inflammation of the digestive tract. A decoction/infusion of leaves has been used to make hair shiny as well.

This is a plant that I sort of like, but I don’t like it too. I love the flowers a lot-the colour especially, while the shape is also quite nice. What I’m not so keen on is that the specimens I have seen are a bit leggy and sparse. I have also only seen them growing in disturbed thicket-like areas where it’s got a fair few weedy plants around it-none of them were in a planted garden bed, so who knows how these pants got here and when!