Malvaceous

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Malvaceous \Mal*va"ceous\, a. [L. malvaceus, from malva mallows.
     See {Mallow}.] (Bot.)
     Pertaining to, or resembling, a natural family of plants
     ({Malvaceae}), of which the mallow is the type. The cotton
     plant, hollyhock, and abutilon are of this family. It was
     formerly classified as an order, and included the baobab and


     the silk-cotton trees. The baobab and silk-cotton trees are
     now placed in the family {Bombacaceae}, which is included
     with the {Malvaceae} in the order {Malvales}.
     [1913 Webster +PJC]