Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra

Okra

Okra is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It is valued for its edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with supporters of South Asian, Ethiopian and West African origins...

, jute

Jute

Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fibre that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. It is produced from plants in the genus Corchorus, which has been classified in the family Tiliaceae, or more recently in Malvaceae....

 and cacao. The largest genera in terms of number of species include Hibiscus

Hibiscus

Hibiscus is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world...

(300 species), Sterculia

Sterculia

Sterculia is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It was previously placed in the now obsolete Sterculiaceae. Members of the genus are colloquially known as tropical chestnuts...

(250 species), Dombeya

Dombeya

Dombeya is a flowering plant genus. Traditionally included in the family Sterculiaceae, it is included in the expanded Malvaceae in the APG and most subsequent systematics. These plants are known by a number of vernacular names which sometimes, misleadingly, allude to the superficial similarity of...

(225 species), Pavonia

Pavonia (plant)

Pavonia is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. The generic name honours Spanish botanist José Antonio Pavón Jiménez .-Selected species:* Pavonia arabica Hochst. & Steud. ex Boiss....

(200 species) and Sida (200 species).
The circumscription of the Malvaceae is very controversial.