| Desert globemallow | |
|---|---|
| |
| Desert globemallow Sphaeralcea ambigua var. ambigua | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Sphaeralcea |
| Species: | S. ambigua
|
| Binomial name | |
| Sphaeralcea ambigua | |
Sphaeralcea ambigua, is a species of flowering plant commonly known as desert globemallow or apricot mallow, for it's predominantly orange blooms. It is a member of the genus Sphaeralcea in the mallow family (Malvaceae).[1]
It is a perennial shrub native to parts of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico in the United States and Sonora and Baja California in northwest Mexico.[1][2] It grows well in alkaline soil, both sandy or clay, usually in the company of creosote bush scrub and desert chaparral habitats, at 150–2,500 metres (490–8,200 ft) in elevation. It is found in the Mojave Desert, Great Basin desert, and Sonoran Desert ecoregions.[2] It is a larval host to the common checkered skipper, northern white skipper, painted lady, small checkered skipper, and West Coast lady.[3]
- ^ a b NRCS. "Sphaeralcea ambigua". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- ^ a b Jepson eFlora, The Jepson Herbarium, University of California, Berkeley
- ^ The Xerces Society (2016), Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects, Timber Press.