Accession Count: 1
Common Name:
scarlet globemallow
Family Name:
Malvaceae
Botanical Name:
Sphaeralcea coccinea
Sub Species:
Variety:
Forma:
Cultivar:
Characteristics:
S. coccinea is a long-lived perennial sometimes becoming semi-woody and growing into a shrub form. The stems are densely covered in stellate hairs giving them a soft fluffy texture. The stems form from a woody caudex located right beneath the soil surface. This shrub reaches up to sixteen inches in height. The leaves are alternatively arranged with palmate lobes, that are an inch in length. The perfect flowers are a deep orange to pinkish color that form clusters. The flower has five distinct petals, five united sepals and five to many styles (1).
Compound:
Sph coc
Geographic Origin:
Ecozone Origin:
Biome Origin:
Natural History:
Scarlet globemallow origins date back to use by Native Americans as a cooling agent in paste for treating burns . This species is also been recorded as the last plant collected by Meriwether Lewis on the Lewis and Clark expedition (4). The scarlet globemallow is a hardy shrub that will proliferate when a disturbance occurs. This ability to adapt and colonize after disturbance makes it competitive within urban roadways and other difficult environments where other plants can’t survive (4).
Cultivation Notes:
S. coccinea thrive in full-sunlight, dry heat, and sandy, well-drained soils. The pH of the soil should be from five to eight. Although grasshoppers are natural predators to be aware of, other common pests including mormon crickets and cutworm don’t find the plant palatable. Using integrated pest management or, as a last resort, a mild insecticide should prove adequate to handle weevils and other minor pests (1).
Ethnobotany:
Scarlet globemallow is used as aground cover to prevent erosion. This plant stablizes roadsides and other disturbed sites and produces large quantities of seed that expand the population and further improve soil stability in subsequent years. for the plant also serves as a livestock feed when grasses are still dormant. It is an excellent forage plant for domestic sheep, deer, bighorn sheep, bison, prairie dogs, jack rabbits and other small mammals (1). Blackfoot peoples used this plant for medicinal uses as well. They would chew the leaves and stems and then apply the paste to treat burns, scalds and external sores as a cooling agent (2).
Height:
0 - 5 feet
Width:
0 - 5 feet
Growth Rate:
Fast Growing
Grow Season:
Spring
Flower Season:
Fall
Color:
Pink
Function:
Habitat
Spread:
Spreading
Allergen:
Non-allergenic
Invasive:
Benign
Toxicity:
Benign
Hardy:
Hardy
Water Use:
Low water Use
