apricot globemallow

Sphaeralcea ambigua grows to 3 ft (0.91 m) in height and spreads to 2–3 ft (0.61–0.91 m) in width. 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), 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:

S. a. var. ambigua S. a. var. aculeata Jeps. (synonym for S. a. var. ambigua) S. a. var. rosacea (Munz & I.M. Johnst.) Kearney S. a. var. rugosa (Kearney) Kearney

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 150–2,500 m (490–8,200 ft) in elevation. It is found in the Mojave, Great Basin, and Sonoran desert ecoregions.

Numerous bee pollinators visit this flower. The solitary ground-dwelling bee Diadasia ochracea is a specialist pollinator of this mallow.

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. 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.