Scarlet globe mallow

Images

Click on image to view full size

Scarlet globe mallow leaves

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Scarlet globe mallow

Morphology

Stem

Decumbent, ascending or erect, simple to clustered, freely branching, covered with silver-gray, star-shaped hairs.

Leaves

Alternate, simple, short-stalked, circular to ovate in outline, 1 to 2.5 inches long, usually wider than long, deeply palmately 3-5-divided, covered with silver-gray, star-shaped hairs; segments irregularly lobed; margins entire; tips pointed to rounded.

Inflorescence

Racemes, few- to several-flowered, 1 to 4.5 inches long, terminal.

Flower

Calyces 5-lobed, lobes narrowly triangular, densely hairy; corollas to 3/4 inch wide, brick red, salmon-pink or reddish orange; petals 5, 1/3 to 3/4 inch long; tips sometimes notched; stamens numerous, yellow, united into column.

Fruit

10-15, kidney-shaped, wrinkled, 1-seeded segments covered with star-shaped hairs; seeds small.

Ecology

Habitat

Dry open prairie areas, most abundant in sandy or gravelly soils.

Distribution

West 2/3 of Kansas.

Practical Information

Forage Value

Deer and pronghorn antelope graze it more frequently than do livestock.

Uses

The Navajo used the roots during periods of food shortage. Some Plains Indian tribes applied chewed parts of the plant to sores.

Additional Notes