''Sphaeralcea ambigua'' is a species of flowering plant commonly known as desert globemallow or apricot mallow, for its predominantly orange blooms. It has fuzzy, grey-green leaves. It is a member of the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Sphaeralcea ''Sphaeralcea'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family (Malvaceae). There are about 40-60 species, including annuals, perennials, and shrubs. Most originate in the drier regions of North America, with some known from South America. ...

'' in the mallow

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

). It is a perennial shrub native to the

Southwestern United States The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural list of regions of the United States, region of the United States that includes Arizona and New Mexico, along with adjacen ...

and northwest Mexico. ''S. ambigua'' is a prevalent species in desert habitat and helps provide food and habitat for other speciesThe Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press. One of its main uses is in native, pollinator, or drought-tolerant gardens, but it is also used by the Shoshoni peoples as a medicinal plant and as a buffer against invasive species.

Description

''Sphaeralcea ambigua'' grows to in height and spreads to in width.Wolf, M. and B. Evancho. 2016. Plant Guide for desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua A. Gray). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tucson Plant Materials Center. Tucson, AZ. Published September 2016 https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_spam2.pdf The leaves (see image) are fuzzy with white hairs on both sides, lobed, palmately veined, and on long stems, the number of which increases 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 (although morphs may be white or light pink), and blooming in the spring. ''S. ambigua'' is also a larval host to several species of butterflies, such as the common checkered skipper, northern white skipper, painted lady, small checkered skipper, and West Coast lady.

Varieties

''S. ambigua'' A. Gray has eight or nine named varieties: *''S. a.'' var. ''ambigua'' *''S. a.'' var. ''aculeata'' Jeps. (synonym for ''S. a.'' var. ''ambigua'') *''S. a. ''var. ''rosacea'' (Munz & I.M. Johnst.) Kearney *''S. a.'' var. ''rugosa'' (Kearney) Kearney

Habitat

Native habitat

Desert globemallow is native to parts of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, and

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

in the United States and

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

in northwest Mexico. It grows well in alkaline soils, both sandy and clay, usually in the company of creosote bush scrub and desert chaparral

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

s, at in elevation. It is found in the Mojave,

Great Basin The Great Basin () is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds, those with no outlets to the ocean, in North America. It spans nearly all of Nevada, much of Utah, and portions of California, Idaho, Oregon, Wyoming, and Baja Californi ...

, and Sonoran desert

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...

Cultivation

''S. ambigua'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or ''garden plants'' are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars th ...

by specialty

plant nurseries A nursery is a place where plants are propagated and grown to a desired size. Mostly the plants concerned are for gardening, forestry, or conservation biology, rather than agriculture. They include retail nurseries, which sell to the general ...

for use in

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

and drought-tolerant gardens, and a

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equi ...

its desert region's

natural landscaping Natural landscaping, also called native gardening, is the use of native plants including trees, shrubs, groundcover, and grasses which are local to the geographic area of the garden. Benefits Maintenance Natural landscaping is adapted to t ...

and

habitat restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

projects. It requires full sun and can do well with natural rainfall, although supplemental watering increases flowering. Sandy, desert soil with good drainage is preferred, but it is tolerant of some clay. It is winter hardy in USDA Zones 6–10, withstanding temperatures as low as -10°F. General maintenance is low. Plants may be periodically cut back to maintain a vegetative look. Propagation is easy by seed, but tricky by vegetative cuttings.

Uses

Native peoples use

The plant is used by members of the Shoshoni tribe of Native Americans, as well as other indigenous people and settlers in the region, as a food source and

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

Against invasive species

''S. ambigua'' has been proven as a good competitor of

invasive species An invasive species is an introduced species that harms its new environment. Invasive species adversely affect habitats and bioregions, causing ecological, environmental, and/or economic damage. The term can also be used for native spec ...

(such as cheatgrass), where it is a native plant. This is partially due to globemallow being a relatively fast grower with widespread populations.

References

External links

ITIS Report: ''Sphaeralcea ambigua''''Sphaeralcea ambigua'' — CalPhotos Gallery
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3493094 ambigua Flora of the Sonoran Deserts Flora of the California desert regions Flora of the Great Basin Flora of Arizona Flora of Nevada Flora of Baja California Flora of Sonora Flora of Utah Natural history of the Colorado Desert Natural history of the Mojave Desert Garden plants of North America Drought-tolerant plants Flora without expected TNC conservation status