I’ve wondered why I never see Lavatera tauricensis mentioned online or anywhere, since it’s been such a great flower for me. And I noticed when I visited the Denver Botanic Gardens this summer that there was a very similar, if not identical, flower growing there, but it had different, more lobed, leaves. Well, I may have an answer.

A little search for Lavatera tauricensis found the following on a page at www.malvacea.info:

thuringiaca Tauricensis group: Sold under the name Lavatera tauricensis, I suspect that these are plants derived from the population of Lavatera thuringiaca found in the mountains of Crimea, and are better considered as a horticultural group, rather than a distinct natural taxon. These plants are upright, relatively compact, reaching 3-4 ft. in height when in bloom. They flower from July until the frosts, bearing rose pink flowers. They are winter hardy in continental climates, but may not be reliably hardy in the wet condition of a British winter. However copious, readily germinating, seed is produced, so replacement plants are easily obtained.

So, it’s likely this plant is actually an unusual sub-variety of Lavatera thuringiaca, which normally has more lobed leaves than my plants but pretty much identical flowers.