Two similar plants that often get confused are mallow (Lavatera) and hollyhock (Alcea). A quick glance at these two and it is easy to see how they can be mistaken for each other.

Both plants belong to the same family of Malvaceae, and so they do share many common characteristics. The flower is the most obvious similarity. Resembling a hibiscus flower, the lavatera is very showy in shades of

Flower of Lavatera assurgentiflora (mallow). Photo by Shelagh Fritz

pink, red and white. The flower of the hollyhock is also very pretty and in similar shades. Both plants can be annuals, biennials or perennials, although the Lavatera is more often seen as a shrub in gardens while the hollyhock is typically a biennial with a stalk of flowers during its second year.

The hollyhock, with its 60 species, is native to Asia and Europe while the Lavatera, with 25 species, is more of a world traveler.  Its range is in the Mediterranean region, central and eastern Asia, Australia and from California to Mexico. Looking at the adaptability of the Lavatera, its no surprise that it can tolerate a wide range of soil to grow in. It actually prefers sandy, rocky or even clay soil in coastal regions (perfect for Alcatraz!). The hollyhock is a bit more fussy preferring rich, well drained garden soil.

On Alcatraz, we have introduced the mallow,

Lavatera assurgentiflora shrub. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

Lavatera assurgentiflora. Native to the Channel Islands, it has naturalized to the coastal areas of Southern California. We have had it in our Prisoner Gardens on the west side of the island for over a year now and it is doing extremely well. The shrubs have grown to 4 feet tall and wide, and have been consistently blooming for most of the summer and is still going strong.

Flower of a hollyhock. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

Most of our hollyhocks have set seed already and we will have to replant them again next spring.

Both hollyhocks and mallows are good for hummingbird and butterflies.

We often tell visitors the common name of the Lavatera is mallow, which then leads to them asking if this is where marshmallows come from? The answer is ‘no’, marshmallows were originally derived from the plant Althaea officinalis, native to Egypt, but it is a member of the Malvaceae family.

Both Lavatera and hollyhock fit nicely with the cottage garden style of the Prisoner gardens with our mid1940s time period and we are already looking at seed catalogues for next year to add more to our gardens.

Seeing plants on Alcatraz catches visitors by surprise. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

As visitors arrive on Alcatraz, they are greeted by a Park Service ranger who gives them an orientation to the island. The ranger needs to keep the crowd entertained until the entire boat is empty before they can dispense the vital information of where to get the audio tour and a few words of safety.

Each ranger shares different snippets of the island’s history, little teasers to keep people occupied. Having listened to the ‘dock talks’ for more than 6 years now, I’ve heard most of them and to be honest, it’s where I’ve learned most of the more interesting pieces of Alcatraz history.

One of my favorite talks is a true or false quiz. The ranger makes a statement, and then gets people to raise their hands if they think it is true or not. One of the questions is ‘True or False – Alcatraz hosts plants from every continent except Antarctica’. There is usually a split amongst the crowd of those that believe it is true, and those that doubt the statement. But, the answer is TRUE!

Even before we began to introduce plants

Chasmanthe softening the harshness of the recreation yard. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

to restore the gardens, the plant survey done in 2005 found that there were more than 200 species of plants still surviving on Alcatraz from the gardening days of the military and the federal prison.

The range in plants from the different continents is quite surprising – how could plants that are from drastically different parts of the world all survive on a tiny 22 acre island?

This is one of the aspects of the story of gardens that I love – these surviving plants, introduced years ago, could survive on their own because they each found the right microclimate on Alcatraz to make it.

Here is a partial list of the surviving plants by continents:

North America –  Monterrey cypress, Agave americana, Douglas iris, various ferns

South America – Nasturtium, Fuchsia

Fuchsia magellanica that grows on the island. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

Nasturtium from South America. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

Asia –  bearded iris, Fig tree,

Europe – Bear’s breeches, perennial sweet pea, periwinkle, ivy

Australia – Australian tea tree, New Zealand Christmas tree, Eucalyptus, Cordyline

Periwinkle from Europe. Photo by Shelagh Fritz

Africa –  Lily of the Nile, Chasmanthe, Pelargonium, Crocosmia

Not only do we have plants from around the world, but we also have visitors from around the world. Again, with the exception of Antarctica.