desert globemallow (Maricopa Native Seed Library)

desert globemallow

Sphaeralcea ambigua

Summary ⁶

Sphaeralcea ambigua, commonly known as desert globemallow or apricot mallow, is a member of the genus Sphaeralcea in the mallow family (Malvaceae).

Description ⁷

The Sphaeralcea ambigua plant grows to 3 feet (0.91 m) in height and spreads to 2–3 feet (0.61–0.91 m) in width. The leaves (see image) are fuzzy with white hairs on both sides, lobed, palmately veined, and on long stems, the number of which increase with age. The fruit is a brown capsule containing numerous seeds, first quite spherical as implied by the genus name, later flattening to a disk. The flowers are bowl-shaped, five-petaled, apricot to orange in color, and blooming in the spring.

Sphaeralcea ambigua has eight or nine named varieties. They include:

Cultivation ⁷

Sphaeralcea ambigua is cultivated as an ornamental plant by specialty plant nurseries for use in desert and drought tolerant gardens, and a native plant its desert region's natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects. It requires the following conditions:

Uses ⁷

The plant was used by members of the Shoshoni tribe of Native Americans as a food source and medicinal plant.

Sources and Credits

(c) ivarenefarmer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
(c) Ken-ichi Ueda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Ken-ichi Ueda
(c) James Bailey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by James Bailey
(c) Iyah Turminini, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Iyah Turminini
(c) Larry Hendrickson, California State Parks, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Larry Hendrickson, California State Parks
Adapted by Jeny Davis from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaeralcea_ambigua
(c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaeralcea_ambigua

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