Difference Between Mallow and Hollyhock

Plant morphology

Mallow is a biennial or perennial upright herb with a plant height of about 50-90 cm, many branches and sparsely covered with coarse hairs. Hollyhock is a biennial upright herb. The plant is much taller than the mallow, reaching a height of 2 meters, and its stems and branches are densely covered with prickles.

Leaf shape

Compared to mallow, hollyhock has larger leaves, and the petioles of hollyhock are much longer than those of mallow.

The leaves of mallow are glabrous on both sides or only sparsely covered with short, rough hairs on the veins, while hollyhock has hairs on both sides, sparsely covered with stellate soft hairs on the upper side, rough, and covered with stellate long stiff hairs or pubescence on the lower side.

Mallow stipules acuminate at apex; hollyhock stipules 3-pointed at apex.

Flower shape

The flowers of mallow are smaller and monotonous in color, generally purple-pink; the flowers of hollyhock are larger and come in rich and varied colors, including white, red, pink, and yellow. Hollyhock blooms from June to August, and mallow blooms from May to October.