HOLLYHOCKS: AN UNFORGETABLE PLANT WITH BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 

They have big flowers (the ones I photographed can be up to 5 inches in diameter). The ones illustrated herein belong to genus Alcea, but there are reportedly many other "genera" and, at least, 80 or so species in this genus. Hollyhocks are apparently native to Europe and Asia. The single species found in the Americas is invasive and belongs to a different genus. I could not find any papers dealing with the details of the fossil record of hollyhocks. It is likely that Alcea [in the broad sense] originated during the Pleistocene.

Hollyhocks can be tall plants. The tallest plant I photographed (Figure 1 and Figure 4) is 11.6 feet tall (I measured it with a tape measure when the plant finally stopped growing vertically and started to dry up during the first week of July). Then in late July and even into early August, it produced a few new blooms (near the middle of the plant and at its former top).

[note: In the published literature (both written and electronic), hollyhocks are reported as having a maximum height of only 8 feet.]

Kingdom Plantae

Order Malvales

Family Malvaceae

Genus Alcea [the main genus)

Type Species: rosea

This flower is biennial or perennial, meaning they can “come back” every year. They are also self-seeders. In their first year, they grow a rosette of flowers. In the second year, they regrow and flower. They are pollinated by bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Hollyhocks are easy to grow. They like the sun and well-drained soil. The upper part of some hollyhock plants can (but not always) lean or bend over. 

Like nearly every other species of flower, hollyhock flowers have wide range of colors, from white to red, pink, yellow, or orange.

Figure 1. Closeup of a red hollyhock flower.

Figure 2. Closeups of two other red flowers.

Figure 3. Closeup of a pink hollyhock.

Figure 4. Tallest individual plant of hollyhock (11.6 feet tall) that I have seen.