PlantFiles: Mountain Hollyhock, Kankakee Mallow, Streambank Wild Hollyhock, Streambank Globemallow
Iliamna rivularis

Kankakee mallow, Iliamna remota, is native to the Kankakee River area of Illinois. I have a pink mallow, given to me by a friend who told me it was Kankakee mallow. However, for Mother's Day I received a gift of plants purchased at a native-plant nursery, and the leaves of these plants are pubescent, bearing soft hairs on the upper surface, while the ones I planted previously have smooth leaves. I am trying to clear up the issue of which one is the real Iliamna remota, and what is the other one? Unfortunately, this site did not answer my question as it lists several mallows as being "synonyms." I am looking for precise botanical information, not the lumping together of all plants in the same genus. My experience with the plant so far has been good, although I did plant it too close to the path as it gets tall and falls over. I want to move it, but if I find that it's not a true native, I may just take it out because my goal is to use plants native to my area. Can anyone give me more information?

I grew these from seed I purchased from prairiemoon.com I ended up with three plants from wintersowing in 2007. They overwintered as seedlings planted in the ground and returned to start blooming the last days of July 08. They are still blooming now in late August, and it seems true that although they are a rare plant in the wild they are easy to grow in the garden. Mine are planted in combination with other moisture loving plants in part shade. My soil is naturally sandy and I amended this area to help it retain moisture. They are getting quite tall at about 4' right now. I find that their leaves are quite large, but attractive and the flowers are rather small and dainty. I would not consider them extremely showy but they are nice for a natural looking or wildflower garden. Japanese beetles have chewed the leaves some but not too badly. I find these beetles like any plant in the Malvacea family so this is not a big surprise for me.

12/17/09 - In regards to a post made after this - a synonym is another scientific name used for a plant that is the same species. It is not lumping different plants together. All of the above 'synonyms' refer to this one plant listing.