Fuertesimalva peruviana

Native from southwestern Peru to north-central Chile, this annual herb occurs in open habitats, including seasonally moist coastal hills. Upright stems carry hairy leaves with rounded teeth and shallow lobes. Pink flowers develop in small groups in the leaf axils, with five petals surrounding a column of joined stamens. The fruit divides into numerous small seed-bearing segments. In the coastal lomas of Peru, the plant forms part of the herbaceous vegetation that develops during the moist season. Photographed in Peru.