scarlet globe-mallow (scarlet globemallow)
Malvaceae (Mallow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from spreading rhizomes; stems erect to ascending, branched, 10-20 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves lacking; stem leaves alternate, the blades 2-5 cm long, 3-5 parted to the midvein, divisions lobed, upper surface yellowish-green, lower surface grey, the stalks more or less equal to the leaves, shorter above; stipules deciduous.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of few to many flowers in short, terminal, bracted clusters on stalks shorter than the calyces; petals 5, orange-red, 1-2 cm long; calyces without bracts.
Fruits:
Carpels, 3 mm long, 9-17, strongly hairy on the back, prominently net-veined on the sides; seeds 1.
Illustration
If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.
Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Red
Blooming Period:
Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Habitat and Range
Dry grasslands, shrublands and forest openings in the steppe and lower montane zones; rare in SC and SE BC; E to MB and S to IA, TX, UT and OR.Status Information
Taxonomic Keys
KEY TO MALVACEAE
1. Stigmas extending full length on the inner surfaces of the style branches.
2. Calyces with basal bractlets; carpels beakless ....................Malva 1. Stigmas terminal and head-like.
3. Leaves heart-shaped and toothed; petals yellow...............Abutilon
4. Petals usually more than 2 cm long; leaves 4-15 cm long; carpels glabrous on the sides, opening the full length at maturity.........................Iliamna KEY TO SPHAERALCEA 1. Leaves round-toothed to lobed less than halfway to the midvein; calyces with bractlets plants 20-80 cm tall............................S. munroana 1. Leaves deeply parted nearly to the midvein; calyces without bractlets; plants 10-20 cm tall............................S. coccinea Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia |