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Sida spinosa
Also called Prickly Mallow, Prickly Sida, Spiny Sida, Indian Mallow, Prickly Mallow, Prickly Fanpetals, False Mallow
Prickly fanpetals (Sida spinosa) is a small annual or short-lived subshrub in the mallow family, usually 0.2 to 1 m tall, that colonizes roadsides, pastures and other disturbed ground. It is a weed in most places and is grown mainly for its fibre or in traditional herbal use rather than as an ornamental.
Sida spinosa, the prickly fanpetals, is a widespread species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to the seasonally dry tropics and subtropics, including Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, Madagascar, parts of the Middle East, and the Indian Subcontinent, and it has been introduced to many other locales. A subshrub or herb 0.2 to 1.0 m (8 to 39 in) high, it is typically found in disturbed situations such as roadsides and pastures.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sida spinosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
