Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia
Encyclopedia
Sphaeralcea grossulariifolia is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family
known by the common name gooseberryleaf globemallow. It is native to the western United States, where it can be found in the Great Basin
and surrounding regions. It grows in sagebrush
, woodlands, playas
, and the canyons of the Colorado River
. It is common in disturbed areas, such as habitat recently cleared by wildfire
. This perennial herb produces erect stems up to a meter tall from a woody base. The root system is large, constituting a stout, tough taproot
and a spreading fibrous root network. The herbage is usually woolly in texture, but hairless specimens are known, and it is gray-green to purplish in color. The leaves have three-lobed blades with toothed or lobed edges, measuring up to 3.5 centimeters long. As the plant's name suggests, the leaves are sometimes shaped like those of plants in the family Grossulariaceae, the currants and gooseberries. Flowers occur in a raceme
-like inflorescence
. Each flower has five red-orange petals each 1 to 2 centimeters long. The flowers are pollinated
by many bee
species and by wasps of the genus Ammoplanus.
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
known by the common name gooseberryleaf globemallow. It is native to the western United States, where it can be found in the Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
and surrounding regions. It grows in sagebrush
Sagebrush
Sagebrush is a common name of a number of shrubby plant species in the genus Artemisia native to western North America;Or, the sagebrush steppe ecoregion, having one or more kinds of sagebrush, bunchgrasses and others;...
, woodlands, playas
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
, and the canyons of the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
. It is common in disturbed areas, such as habitat recently cleared by wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
. This perennial herb produces erect stems up to a meter tall from a woody base. The root system is large, constituting a stout, tough taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
and a spreading fibrous root network. The herbage is usually woolly in texture, but hairless specimens are known, and it is gray-green to purplish in color. The leaves have three-lobed blades with toothed or lobed edges, measuring up to 3.5 centimeters long. As the plant's name suggests, the leaves are sometimes shaped like those of plants in the family Grossulariaceae, the currants and gooseberries. Flowers occur in a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
-like inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
. Each flower has five red-orange petals each 1 to 2 centimeters long. The flowers are pollinated
Pollination
Pollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
by many bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
species and by wasps of the genus Ammoplanus.