Distinctive rosy-pink flowers and feathery leaves are the identifying features of this handsome roadside plant. A perennial plant, from June to August it bears its five-petalled flowers (3-6 cm) solitarily in leaf axils or in loose clusters. These flowers are a paler pink than those of Common Mallow – sometimes even being white - but have similarly notched slightly overlapping petals. The lower leaves are long-stalked, kidney shaped and divided but the upper leaves are deeply cut into five-to-seven narrow, feathery lobes. The plant has a musky odour as its common name might suggest. Standing about 80 cm tall, it is erect and sparsely hairy and was probably an introduction into Ireland. Its habitats are roadsides, hedgerows and well-drained field margins. It belongs to the Malvaceae family.
I first came across this lovely species in Ballyvaughan, County Clare in 2011 when I also photographed it.
If you are satisfied you have correctly identified this plant, please submit your sighting to the National Biodiversity Data Centre
