From: hughes@dogwood.botany.uga.edu (Wayne Hughes)
Date: 23 Aug 1993 17:26:55 -0500

  This spring I planted a number of seedlings of _Kosteletzkya virginica_
  (seashore mallow).  Despite living more than 200 mi from any 
  coastline, and having planted them in a fairly dry clay soil, 
  they've done marvelously.  They're about half a meter high,
  and after fits and starts, began putting out profuse pink-purple
  mallow-type flowers about 2 cm across.  Like all mallows,
  the flowers only last a day, but the little stand of plants
  that has resulted suggests some interesting possibilties next year.
  The marsh mallow however is prone to considerable insect 
  attack, which the seashore mallows seem to be resistant to.
  
  Speaking of mallows, and of course, cottons, hibiscus and okra 
  are all members of the family of mallows, _Malvaceae_, another
  little project was to plant a number of wild cotton
  species. _Gossypium thurberi_, _G. bickii_, _G. trilobum_,
  and _G. davidsonii_ have all yielded flourishing plants.
  The _G. thurberi_ in particular is about 1.5 meters tall
  after one season; I will discover this year whether in 
  our climate the roots will survive the winter.  They are
  short-day plants and have not yet flowered, but past 
  experiences says that all but _G. bickii_ are prolific 
  and spectacular.  The latter puts out a number of 
  cleistogamous flowers, which never open and ensure that
  the plant will have a number of self-fertilized progeny.
  
  For those who like hibiscus (both wild and horticulturalized),
  wild mallow and cotton species are interesting to try to grow.

  Wayne