On this basis, in 1998, Martin Forbes Ray published the replacement name Malva canariensis.

[9] Two varieties are recognised: the nominate form which is found on the western islands, and M. acerifolia var.

[12] This plant is a small tree or shrub, which will grow to approximately 5 ft. high in three or four years in cultivated.

Cavanilles describes the petals as coloured light pink, with dark purple streaks near the base, and the undersides white.

[10] The shrub was first collected by the French biologist Pierre Marie Auguste Broussonet on the island of Tenerife during his sojourn there at the turn of the 18th century.

[citation needed] It grows in the lower elevations of these islands, in dry, sunny locations.

[11] It is a somewhat ruderal species, preferring nitrogen-rich soils, especially on disturbed ground or abandoned farmland.

In some parts of the Canary Islands these shrubs were traditionally cultivated as an ornamental in rural areas, but it is now found planted in urban gardens on the islands, valued for the attractive flowers, rapid growth and ease of cultivation.