[5] M. sylvestris is a vigorous plant with showy flowers of bright mauve-purple, with dark veins, standing 0.91–1.22 metres (3–4 ft) high and growing freely in meadows, hedgerows and in fallow fields.

[6] It is one of several species of different genera sometimes referred to as Creeping Charlie, a term more commonly applied to Glechoma hederacea (ground ivy).

[5][11] Nutlets strongly reticulate (10–12 mericarps, usually without hair, with sharp angle between dorsal and lateral surfaces, 5–6 mm in diameter.

[15] Malva sylvestris spreads itself on waste and rough ground, by roads and railways throughout lowland England, Wales and Channel Islands, Siberia and scattered elsewhere.

[10] Source: USDA ARS GRIN[4] It is often grown as an ornamental plant for its attractive flowers, produced for a long period through the summer.

Malva vein clearing potyvirus which is transmitted by mechanical inoculation in a non-persistent manner via insects, such as Aphis umbrella (syn.

The virus can be found in Tasmania, Brazil, the former Czechoslovakia, Germany, Israel, Italy, Portugal, California, Russia and the former Yugoslavia.

[8] M. sylvestris has traditionally been used around the world as a wild food plant, from the Mediterranean[19] and Middle East, including Palestine[20] and Italy,[21] to the Caucasus.