Musk mallow is a polycarpic perennial non-clonal herb. The root is taproot, the stem is branched at the bottom, 30-100 cm high, covered with hairs. Ground leaves petiolate, mostly entire, stem leaves 5-7-lobed or 5-7-lobed, leaves glabrous on the face, hairy on the back. Flowers pink and white. Corolla triangular, obovate, shallowly cut. The fruit is composed of up to twenty fruits, which are densely brown-hairy.
It occurs in pastures, on slope meadows, forest grassy plains, in borders, in bushes, on forest edges, along roads, gardens, fences, in ditches by roads, on railway embankments, on burial grounds, in gardens, in cemeteries. It grows more on calcium-poor soils, especially on silicate rocks. It occurs sporadically throughout the Czech Republic, with greater frequency in the supracolloidal and submontane stages. Its habit significantly contributes to the character of the landscape, it naturally occurs in meadows and pastures and belongs to these places. Its habit and flower color make it unmistakable and in a certain sense it may have a higher socio-aesthetic than dietary importance in stands. Mallow is one of the plants producing a significant amount of pollen and nectar, which is why it is sought after and frequently visited by pollinators.
Economic properties
From the forage point of view, it is a very interesting crop that can be used in the preparation of forage mixtures for the restoration and sowing of meadows and pastures. There are a large number of mixtures on the market for these purposes, but they have a narrow species base, they are usually made up of several types of grass (fescue, ryegrass, their hybrids, then ryegrass, fescue and dog grass) and clover (mostly the bearing clover). This is because, on the one hand, they are important forage species with high dietary value and the seed is relatively cheap. Adding other components (herbs), the production of whose seeds is a marginal matter, would significantly increase the price of the seed and thus become unsaleable. The price of mallow seed is not as high as for other herbs.
