Sphaeralcea fulva
| Desert mallow | |
|---|---|
| Desert mallow Sphaeralcea fulva | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Sphaeralcea |
| Species: | S. fulva
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sphaeralcea fulva | |
Sphaeralcea fulva, commonly known as desert mallow, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is native to northwestern Mexico.[1][2]
Description
Sphaeralcea fulva is a perennial shrub which grows to 2–4 feet (0.61–1.22 m) high. It was described by Greene as growing erect and stout, sparingly branching, suffrutescent, and covered with a yellowish stellate pubescence. Leaves are small, triangular-lanceolate in shape, thick and firm in texture, and coarsely toothed. The calyx is cleft below the middle into triangular acute segments. The corolla is 3⁄4 inch (1.9 cm) long, light scarlet in color.[3]
Taxonomy
Sphaeralcea fulva was first formally described by American botanist Edward Lee Greene in his first volume of Pittonia, published in 1889.[3] It was one of several species described from types from Albert Kellogg's unpublished work.[4]
Habitat
In Isla Natividad, it was observed to be common in canyons and canyon bottoms in the northern portion of the island.[5] It has also been described as growing in clay soil.[3]
References
- ^ "Sphaeralcea fulva Greene". www.catalogueoflife.org. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ "Sphaeralcea fulva Greene". Plants of the World Online | Kew Science. Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ^ a b c Greene, Edward Lee (1889). Pittonia; a series of papers relating to botany and botanists. Vol. I. Berkeley, California: Cubery & Company. p. 201.
- ^ Ertter, Barbara (2000). "People, Plants, and Politics: The Development of Institution-Based Botany in California 1853-1906". Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences. 25. San Francisco, California: California Academy of Sciences.
- ^ Junak, Steven A.; Philbrick, Ralph (2000). Browne, D.R.; Mitchell, K.L.; Chaney, H.W. (eds.). "Flowering plants of Natividad Island, Baja California, Mexico" (PDF). Proceedings of the Fifth California Islands Symposium. Camarillo, CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service: 227, 233.