Scientific Family
Malvaceae
Synonyms
Sphaeralcea ribifolia
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Similar species
Other <i>Sphaeralcea</i> sp.
Height
To 3 feet
Riparian
No
Native perennial having 5-petaled orange, red or pink flowers and deeply lobed green leaves. It grows in high pH soils containing calcium carbonate (caliche).
Herbage with matted hairs; flowers in open, long-branched panicle of relatively few flowers; relatively thick walled carpels (ovary) are half as wide as high, netting is smooth and fine.
Habitat
Lower elevation dry fields and roadsides. Found on lime soil.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Disturbed Areas
Desert Scrub
Low elevation
2000
High elevation
6000
Flower Characteristics
The 5-petaled flowers have dark maroon anthers and are up to 1-1/2 inches wide.
Flower color
Orange, red or pink
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
March
Last bloom month
November
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
The leaves are alternate, green, broadly scalloped, and stippled with short, starlike, whitish hairs. The leaves are almost as wide as long, and palmately lobed with 3 main lobes.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Green
Leaf shape
Palmate
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
The fruit is a schizocarp, meaning it breaks into segments when dry. The schizocarp of the Sphaeralcea laxa breaks into 9 to 17 segments.
Fruit type
Other
Fruit color
Green