Higher classification Sphaeralcea | Subfamily Malvoideae Scientific name Sphaeralcea coccinea Rank Species | |
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Similar Sphaeralcea, Mallows, Sphaeralcea munroana, Sphaeralcea ambigua, Western wheatgrass | ||
Sphaeralcea coccinea, the scarlet globemallow, is a perennial plant growing 10–30 cm tall from spreading rhizomes 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 collected a specimen of this species.
