Scientific Family
Malvaceae
Other common names
littleleaf globemallow
Plant type
Forbs and Subshrubs
Origin
Native
Lifecycle
Perennial
Height
3 feet
Riparian
No
Small-flowered globe mallow can grow to 3 feet tall. Its orange-red flowers grow along a straight elongated cluster up to 18 inches long. The small grayish-green leaves have extremely wavy margins and the upper surface has deep veins.
Perennial with large roots, woody base. Leaf blades about as wide as long, shallowly lobed; hairs gray or whitish. Fruit hemispheric. Flowers orangish-red on relatively dense many-flowered stems. Fruits more than half as wide as high, walls thick.
Habitat
Hot, dry, open areas in semi-desert, foothills and woodlands.
Plant Community
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Interior Chaparral
Grasslands
Low elevation
4000
High elevation
7000
Flower Characteristics
Cup-shaped orange-red flowers to 1 inch wide have 5 heart-shaped petals surrounding yellow anthers.
Flower color
Orange-red
Flower shape
Regular
Tubular
No
First bloom month
May
Last bloom month
September
Flower clusters
Elongated
Leaf and Stem Characteristics
Leaves are thick, broadly triangular, wavy-edged and shallowly three-lobed to 1-1/2 inches long. The upper surfaces have white glands and deep veins.
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf color
Grayish-green
Leaf shape
Triangular
Leaf margin
Lobed
Leaves clasp
No
Leaf hairs
Leaves & stems
Spines
No
Fruit and Seed Characteristics
Fruits hemispherical, with 9 to 12 divisions (carpels).
Fruit type
Pod
Fruit color
Tan