Malvaceae is family of flowering plants containing Malva, the mallow genus, and its relatives.

There are two main views on the circumscription of the family. One view takes the traditionally narrow view of the family, Malvaceae sensu stricto. The APG II system takes a broader circumscription on the basis of molecular phylogenies that show that while Malvaceae s.s. is cladistically monophyletic, several closely related families of order Malvales are not monophyletic. This definition of the family unites the core Malvales of the Cronquist system, including Bombacaceae, Malvaceae s.s., Sterculiaceae and Tiliaceae, into the wider Malvaceae sensu lato.

Malvaceae sensu stricto

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That Malvaceae s.s. comprise a cladistically monophyletic group has been confirmed by recent molecular phylogenies. It is a homogeneous taxon, so homogeneous that the subfamily category is not applicable, Malvaceae s.s. is only subdivided in tribes.

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