''Sphaeralcea coccinea'', the scarlet globemallow, is a perennial plant growing 10–30 cm tall from spreading

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s with a low habit. They have grayish stems with dense, star-shaped hairs and alternately arranged leaves. The leaf blades are 2–5 cm long, palmately shaped, and deeply cut, with 3–5 main wedge-shaped segments. The undersides of the leaves have gray hairs. The 2-cm-wide flowers are reddish-orange and saucer-shaped, with 5 notched, broad petals, in small terminal clusters. Plants flower from May to October. This species is native to grasslands and prairies of the Great Plains and western regions of northern North America. While on the course of his expedition, near the Marias River,

Meriwether Lewis Meriwether Lewis (August 18, 1774 – October 11, 1809) was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with ...

collected a specimen of this species.Schiemann, Donald Anthony. Wildflowers of Montana, page 144. Mountain Press Publishing Company, Missoula. 2005.

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coccinea Flora of the Northwestern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the United States Flora of the South-Central United States Flora of the Southwestern United States Flora of Western Canada Flora of the Great Plains (North America) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Malveae-stub