Sphaeralcea ambigua
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Desert globemallow
| image = Sphaeralcea-ambigua-detail.jpg
| image_caption = Desert globemallow
Sphaeralcea ambigua var. ambigua
| genus = Sphaeralcea
| species = ambigua
| authority = A.Gray
}}
Sphaeralcea ambigua is a species of flowering plant commonly known as desert globemallow or apricot mallow, for its predominantly orange blooms. It has fuzzy, grey-green leaves. It is a member of the genus Sphaeralcea in the mallow family (Malvaceae).{{PLANTS | symbol = SPAM2 | taxon = Sphaeralcea ambigua}}
It is a perennial shrub native to the Southwestern United States and northwest Mexico.{{Jepson eFlora|45130|link=1}} S. ambigua is a prevalent species in desert habitat and helps provide food and habitat for other speciesThe Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.
One of its main uses is in native, pollinator, or drought-tolerant gardens, but it is also used by the Shoshoni peoples as a medicinal plant and as a buffer against invasive species.
Description
Sphaeralcea ambigua grows to {{convert|3|ft|m|abbr=on}} in height and spreads to {{convert|2|-|3|ft|m|abbr=on}} in width.Wolf, M. and B. Evancho. 2016. Plant Guide for desert globemallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua A. Gray). USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, Tucson Plant Materials Center. Tucson, AZ. Published September 2016 https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_spam2.pdf The leaves (see image) are fuzzy with white hairs on both sides, lobed, palmately veined, and on long stems, the number of which increases with age. The fruit is a brown capsule containing numerous seeds, first quite spherical as implied by the genus name, later flattening to a disk. The flowers are bowl-shaped, five-petaled, apricot to orange in color (although morphs may be white or light pink{{cite thesis |id={{ProQuest|1429780172}} |last1=Messinger |first1=Olivia J |date=2013 |title=The role of visual and olfactory cues in host recognition for the specialist bee genus Diadasia, and implications for the evolution of host choice }}{{page needed|date=November 2024}}), and blooming in the spring.
S. ambigua is also a larval host to several species of butterflies, such as the common checkered skipper, northern white skipper, painted lady, small checkered skipper, and West Coast lady.
=Varieties=
S. ambigua A. Gray has eight or nine named varieties:[http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/LN2C.pl?genus=Sphaeralcea+ambigua&image=yes Jepson Taxon Report: Taxon Report] . accessed 11.11.2011
- S. a. var. ambigua [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?Sphaeralcea+ambigua+var.+ambigua Jepson - var. ambigua] . accessed 11.11.2011
- S. a. var. aculeata Jeps. (synonym for S. a. var. ambigua) [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?66618 Jepson var. aculeata/ambigua] . accessed 11.11.2011
- S. a. var. rosacea (Munz & I.M. Johnst.) Kearney [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?Sphaeralcea+ambigua+var.+rosacea Jepson - var. rosacea] . accessed 11.11.2011
- S. a. var. rugosa (Kearney) Kearney [http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/cgi-bin/get_cpn.pl?79171 Jepson - var. rugosa] . accessed 11.11.2011
Habitat
= Native habitat =
Desert globemallow is native to parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in the United States and Sonora and Baja California in northwest Mexico. It grows well in alkaline soils, both sandy and clay, usually in the company of creosote bush scrub and desert chaparral habitats, at {{convert|150|–|2500|m|ft|abbr=on}} in elevation. It is found in the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran desert ecoregions.
= Cultivation =
S. ambigua is cultivated as an ornamental plant by specialty plant nurseries for use in desert and drought-tolerant gardens, and a native plant its desert region's natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects. It requires full sun and can do well with natural rainfall, although supplemental watering increases flowering. Sandy, desert soil with good drainage is preferred, but it is tolerant of some clay. It is winter hardy in USDA Zones 6–10, withstanding temperatures as low as -10°F.{{Cite book |last=Miller |first=George Oxford |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=52hjEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT118 |title=Native Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees & Butterflies: Southern California |date=2022-03-08 |publisher=Adventure Publications |isbn=978-1-64755-191-9 |language=en}} General maintenance is low. Plants may be periodically cut back to maintain a vegetative look. Propagation is easy by seed, but tricky by vegetative cuttings.
Uses
= Native peoples use =
The plant is used by members of the Shoshoni tribe of Native Americans, as well as other indigenous people and settlers in the region, as a food source and medicinal plant.{{Cite web |title=BRIT - Native American Ethnobotany Database |url=http://naeb.brit.org/uses/search/?string=Sphaeralcea+ambigua |access-date=2024-12-04 |website=naeb.brit.org}}
= Against invasive species =
S. ambigua has been proven as a good competitor of invasive species{{Cite web |title=Revegetation Strategies for Ecological Restoration - ProQuest |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3094100555 |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=www.proquest.com | id={{ProQuest|3094100555}} |language=en}} (such as cheatgrass), where it is a native plant. This is partially due to globemallow being a relatively fast grower with widespread populations.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons}}
- [https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=21910 ITIS Report: Sphaeralcea ambigua]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=&where-taxon=Sphaeralcea+ambigua+ssp.+ambigua&where-lifeform=specimen_tag&rel-lifeform=ne&rel-taxon=begins+with&title_tag=Sphaeralcea+ambigua+ssp.+ambigua Sphaeralcea ambigua — CalPhotos Gallery]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q3493094}}
Category:Flora of the Sonoran Deserts
Category:Flora of the California desert regions
Category:Flora of the Great Basin
Category:Flora of Baja California
Category:Natural history of the Colorado Desert
Category:Natural history of the Mojave Desert
Category:Garden plants of North America