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 Leaf Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) |  Plant Patrick Alexander @http://swbiodiversity.org, Usage Rights: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) | | | | |
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Origin:
Native
Life Cycle:
Perennial Similar Species: Other Sphaeralcea sp.
General Desc:
Native perennial having 5-petaled orange, red or pink flowers and deeply lobed green leaves. It grows in high pH soils containing calcium carbonate (caliche).
Identification notes: Herbage with matted hairs; flowers in open, long-branched panicle of relatively few flowers; relatively thick walled carpels (ovary) are half as wide as high, netting is smooth and fine.
Height:
To 3 feet
Habitat Description: Lower elevation dry fields and roadsides. Found on lime soil.
Plant Communities:
Desert Scrub, Interior Chaparral, Semidesert Grasslands, Pinyon Juniper Woodland, Disturbed Areas
Elevation: 2000 - 6000 feet
Color:
Orange, red or pink
Shape:
Regular in elongated clusters
Tubular:
N
Flowering Period:
Mar - Nov
Description:
The 5-petaled flowers have dark maroon anthers and are up to 1-1/2 inches wide.
Leaf Color:
Green
Leaf Type:
Simple
Leaf Shape:
Palmate
Leaf Margin:
Lobed
Leaf Attachment:
Alternate
Leaves Clasp:
N
Hairs:
Leaves and stems
Spines:
N
Leaf Description:
The leaves are alternate, green, broadly scalloped, and stippled with short, starlike, whitish hairs. The leaves are almost as wide as long, and palmately lobed with 3 main lobes.
Fruit Color: Green
Fruit Notes: The fruit is a schizocarp, meaning it breaks into segments when dry. The schizocarp of the Sphaeralcea laxa breaks into 9 to 17 segments.
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