''Sphaeralcea gierischii'', Gierisch's globemallow or Gierisch mallow, is an endangered species of flowering plant in the mallow family,
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 okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar o ...
. It is native to the
western United States
The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...
, where it is known only from
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
and
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States. It is the list of U.S. states and territories by area, 6th largest and the list of U.S. states and territories by population, 14 ...
perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
. It produces clumps of dark reddish purple stems up to about a meter tall with a few bright green, lobed leaves. The flowers have petals up to 2.5 centimeters long. They are orange, or sometimes described as "
grenadine
Grenadine is a commonly used nonalcoholic bar syrup characterized by its deep red color. It is a popular cocktail ingredient renowned for its flavor as well as its ability to give a reddish or pink tint to mixed drinks. Grenadine is traditiona ...
".
Distribution and habitat
There are only five known occurrences, with 90% of the population located within
Mohave County, Arizona
Mohave County is in the northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 213,267. The county seat is Kingman, and the largest city is Lake Havasu City. It is the fifth largest county in the United S ...
. It is threatened by
open-pit mining
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow.
This form of min ...
for
gypsum
Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and dr ...
. The single occurrence in Utah is also threatened by
off-road vehicle
An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with d ...
use and dumping.
Ecology
Associated species include
creosote bush
''Larrea tridentata'', called creosote bush and greasewood as a plant, chaparral as a medicinal herb, and ''gobernadora'' ( Spanish for "governess") in Mexico, due to its ability to secure more water by inhibiting the growth of nearby plants. In ...
,
blackbrush
''Coleogyne ramosissima'' or blackbrush, is a low lying, dark grayish-green, aromatic,Turner, Raymond M. 1982. Great Basin desertscrub. In: Brown, David E., ed. Biotic communities of the American Southwest--United States and Mexico. Desert Plan ...
,
saltbush Saltbush is a vernacular plant name that most often refers to '' Atriplex'', a genus of about 250 plants distributed worldwide from subtropical to subarctic regions. ''Atriplex'' species are native to Australia, North and South America, and Eurasia. ...
,
yucca
''Yucca'' is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40–50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish ...
,
ragweed
Ragweeds are flowering plants in the genus ''Ambrosia'' in the aster family, Asteraceae. They are distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, especially North America,ephedra,
rabbitbrush
Rabbitbrush is a common name for shrubs, principally of the western United States, in three related genera of the family Asteraceae:
* '' Chrysothamnus'' — about seven species in the United States, including Greene's rabbitbrush
* '' Ericam ...
indigo bush The common name indigo bush can refer to plants in any of several genera in the legume family, including:
*'' Amorpha'', native to North America
*''Dalea''
*'' Psorothamnus''
See also
*False indigo False indigo is a common name for several plants ...
, and
cliffrose
''Purshia'' (bitterbrush or cliff-rose) is a small genus of 5–8 species of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae which are native to western North America.
Description
''Purshia'' species form deciduous or evergreen shrubs, typically rea ...
.
The plant is nearly an obligate gypsophile, mainly limited to the gypsum soils of the
Kaibab Limestone
The Kaibab Limestone is a resistant cliff-forming, Permian geologic formation that crops out across the U.S. states of northern Arizona, southern Utah, east central Nevada and southeast California. It is also known as the Kaibab Formation in Ar ...
; it has also been seen on limestone soils. The gypsum is sought after and extensively mined in the area by a process that involves removing the top layer of rock, mining the gypsum-rich deeper layers, and filling the pit with the rubble of the top layer. This process is very destructive to the local habitat.
Conservation
In 2012, it was proposed as an endangered species under the
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of e ...
.Gierisch mallow (''Sphaeralcea gierischii''). US Fish and Wildlife Service Species Profile. In 2013 it was granted endangered status.
Since 2011, Red Butte Garden's Conservation Department in Salt Lake City, Utah, has been conducting germination, propagation, and transplant studies at a site in Arizona, just South of St. George, UT. The studies are meant to assess the feasibility of reintroducing S. gierischii to reclaimed gypsum mine tailings.