Alternate name: Copper Mallow
Family: Malvaceae, Mallow view all from this family
Description Red-orange or brick-red flowers bloom in narrow clusters and in upper axils on these leafy, branched, velvety-haired plants.
Flowers: 1-1 1/4" (2.5-3.1 cm) wide; petals 5; stamens many, joined at base, forming a tube around style.
Leaves: 3/4-2" (2-5 cm) wide, nearly round, divided into 3 broad or narrow lobes which may be variously divided or toothed.
Height: to 20" (50 cm), stems often leaning at base.
Flower April-August.
Habitat Open ground in arid grassland and among pinyon and juniper.
Range Central Canada; south to western Montana, most of Utah, northeastern Arizona, and most of New Mexico; east to Texas and Iowa.
Discussion Globe-mallows are common plants on western ranges, but difficult to identify. One of the easiest species to recognize is Scaly Globe-mallow (S. leptophylla) which is covered with gray scale-like hairs and has very narrow upper leaves, not divided or toothed. It grows from southern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and northeastern Arizona to western Texas and northern Mexico.
