Sida hermaphrodita, known by the common names Virginia fanpetals and Virginia mallow, is a perennial forb native to the eastern United States, USDA, NRCS. 2014. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. which produces white flowers in summer.
Description
The branching stem of Sida hermaphrodita is 1 to 4 meters tall, and up to 3 centimeters in diameter. The leaves are 10 to 20 centimeters long and borne on petioles. The leaves are simple, but palmately cleft into 3 to 7 lanceolate lobes. The flowers are borne in terminal clusters. Each flower has 5 petals, which are about a centimeter long. The fruit is a schizocarp that splits into segments when ripe.Britton, Nathaniel Lord & Brown, Addison (1913). An Illustrated Flora of the Northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions: From Newfoundland to the Parallel of the Southern Boundary of Virginia, and from the Atlantic Ocean Westward to the 102d Meridian, Volume 2., p. 520. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York.
Distribution and habitat Sida hermaphrodita has been recorded in Washington, D.C., Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the Canadian province of Ontario, although local distribution may be spotty. It is listed as an endangered species by the states of Indiana, Maryland, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania, and as a species of special concern by Kentucky. In Virginia, Sida hermaphrodita grows in habitats such as sandy or rocky river shores. Virginia Botanical Associates. (2014). Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora (http://www.vaplantatlas.org). c/o Virginia Botanical Associates, Blacksburg. The presence of this species is dependent on appropriate habitat, and it may be eliminated from an area by development, changes in land use, or competition with invasive species.
Taxonomy Recent phylogenetic research confirms that Sida hermaphrodita is not particularly closely related to other members of the genus Sida. Over the years, it has been suggested that this species might be closer related to the monotypic genus Napaea, or to Sidasodes, a genus of two species native to the Andes, however, further research has not supported either of these relationships.Javier Fuertes Aguilar, Paul A. Fryxell, Robert K. Jansen Systematic Botany, 28(2):352-364. 2003. The American Society of Plant Taxonomists. Virginia mallow has since been formally treated as a monotypic, isolated, temperate, North American genus, Ripariosida hermaphrodita Weakley & D. B. Poind., named for its historic preference for inundated stream-beds.
In cultivation In Poland, Sida hermaphrodita is grown for its fiber, as a source of fodder for livestock, and as a source of nectar for beekeeping. It is currently being investigated as a source of biomass for alternative energy production purposes.H. Borkowska, R. Molas, A. Kupczyk (2009) Polish Journal of Environmental Studies. Vol. 18, No. 4. (http://www.pjoes.com) The results of trials in Northern Europe have demonstrated high yields, ranging from , annually, showing good properties as a feedstock for energy pellets
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