Genus: 19 species.
Clades: section Acaules, Malvastrum.
Region: Andes, Peru.
Habitat: high mountains.
BotanyHerb; up to 15 cm tall.
Root: large flexible or woody tap root.
Stem: stemmless.
Leaves: basal rosettes; petioles as long as the blades.
Flowers: malvaceous; central column bearing the cluster of stamens and styles at its apex; corolla of five free petals; cup-like calyx with five triangular lobes, subtended by 3 involucral bractlets; petals tending to be broadly obovate
Inflorescence: white, central yellow; very shortly branched head of 1 to 6 flowers, forming a cluster at the heart of the rosette.
TaxonomyAcaulimalva is a genus in the section Acaules of Malvastrum, like Nototriche and Tarasa. Acaulimalvasare much easier to manage and flower than their more aristocratic cousins the Nototriches.