MALVACEAE

MALLOW FAMILY

Steven R. Hill, except as specified

Annual, perennial herb, shrubs, trees, generally stellate-hairy; juice sticky; inner bark tough, fibrous
Leaves alternate, simple, petioled; blade generally palmately veined or lobed, stipules present
Inflorescence often leafy; whorl or involucre of bractlets often subtending calyx
Flower generally bisexual, radial; calyx lobes 5, margins abutting in bud; petals 5, free (fused at base to filament tube, so falling together); stamens many, filaments fused into a tube surrounding style, tube fused in turn to petal bases; pistil 1, ovary superior, chambers generally 5 or more, style branches, stigmas generally 1 or 2 X as many as chambers
Fruit of 5–many disk- or wedge-shaped segments, loculicidal capsule, or berry
Genera in family: 100 genera, 2000 species: worldwide, especially warm regions; some cultivated (e.g., Abelmoschus , okra; Alcea ; Gossypium , cotton; Hibiscus , Malvaviscus )
Recent taxonomic note: Recently treated to include Sterculiaceae [Angiosperm phylogeny Group 1998 Ann Missouri Bot Gard 85:531–553; Alverson et al. 1999 Amer J Bot 86:1474–1486; Bayer et al. 1999 Bot J Linn Soc 129:267–303]
Mature fruit important for identification.

SPHAERALCEA

GLOBEMALLOW

John C. La Duke

Annual, perennial herb, stellate-hairy
Leaf petioled; blade linear-lanceolate to triangular, entire to deeply dissected
Inflorescence: panicle or raceme-like (unbranched except for clusters in axils)
Flower: petals obovate, red-orange, white, or lavender; filament tube glabrous or stellate-hairy, anthers yellow or purple; stigmas head-like
Fruit breaking into 9–17 segments; upper part of segment dehiscent, smooth; lower part indehiscent, strongly net-veined, 1–2-seeded
Seeds gray, black, or brown
Species in genus: ± 50 species: warm Am, s Africa
Etymology: (Greek: globe mallow, from fruit shape)
Reference: [Kearney 1935 Univ Calif Publ Bot 19:1–128]
Polyploidy and intermediates common.

Native

S. emoryi Torr. var. emoryi

Plant coarsely canescent
Stem erect, < 21 dm
Leaf: blade 25–55 mm, ovate-triangular, 3-lobed, 3–5-veined, gray-green, base cordate, tip ± truncate to acute, margin crenate
Inflorescence raceme-like below, compact panicle of clusters above
Flower: calyx 6–8 mm; petals 10–12 mm, red-orange to lavender; filament column ± 6 mm, anthers yellow
Fruit: segments 10–16, 4.5–5 mm, 2.5 mm wide, truncate-conic; dehiscent part acute, < 3 mm, ± 60% of segment
Seeds 1–2 per segment, brown or black
Ecology: Fields, roadsides
Elevation: < 600 m.
Bioregional distribution: s Mojave Desert, Sonoran Desert
Distribution outside California: Nevada, Arizona, Mexico
Flowering time: Feb–Jul, Oct
Synonyms: var. arida (Rose) Kearney; var. variabilis (Cockerell) Kearney
Intergrades with S. angustifolia
Horticultural information: TRY.