Sphaeralcea coccinea

Sphaeralcea coccinea is important forage for wildlife and domestic animals; it is a preferred food for black-tailed prairie dogs and scaled quail.

Photo Credit: © G.A. Cooper, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database. Courtesy of Smithsonian Institution, Dept. of Systematic Biology, Botany.
Sphaeralcea coccinea
Common Name: scarlet globemallow
Other Common Names: copper mallow, orange globemallow, red falsemallow
Plant Functional Group: Forb
Class > Order > Family: Magnoliopsida > Malvales > Malvaceae
What does the species look like?

Scarlet globemallow is a freely branching, low-spreading to erect, drought-deciduous, biennial to perennial, herbaceous plant to subshrub growing 2.4 to 24 inches tall or more. It can form patches by creeping, underground stems. Its smallish, showy, brick red, salmon-pink, or reddish-orange flowers have both male and female parts, occur along the upper stem, and are insect-pollinated

Scarlet globemallow grows in desert, semi-desert, prairie, grassland, scrub, pinyon-juniper, and sagebrush communities and often on dry roadsides, disturbed areas, and dry slopes. It is adapted to a wide range of soil types from sandy to clay loams, preferring moderately sandy or rocky sites, and is extremely drought resistant, and shade intolerant.
Where is the species found?
States & Provinces
AB, AZ, BC, CO, IA, ID, KS, MB, MN, MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, SK, TX, UT, WY
Special Considerations for Observing

If drought seems to be the cause of leaf senescence for a plant, please make a comment about it for that observation.
Which phenophases should I observe?
Do you see...?
Leaves Initial growth
New growth of the plant is visible after a period of no growth (winter or drought), either from above-ground buds with green tips, or new green or white shoots breaking through the soil surface. Growth is considered "initial" on each bud or shoot until the first leaf has fully unfolded. For seedlings, "initial" growth includes the presence of the one or two small, round or elongated leaves (cotyledons) before the first true leaf has unfolded.
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Leaves
One or more live, fully unfolded leaves are visible on the plant. For seedlings, consider only true leaves and do not count the one or two small, round or elongated leaves (cotyledons) that are found on the stem almost immediately after the seedling germinates. Do not include fully dried or dead leaves.
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Flowers Flowers or flower buds
One or more fresh open or unopened flowers or flower buds are visible on the plant. Include flower buds or inflorescences that are swelling or expanding, but do not include those that are tightly closed and not actively growing (dormant). Also do not include wilted or dried flowers.
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How many flowers and flower buds are present? For species in which individual flowers are clustered in flower heads, spikes or catkins (inflorescences), simply estimate the number of flower heads, spikes or catkins and not the number of individual flowers.

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • More than 1,000
Open flowers
One or more open, fresh flowers are visible on the plant. Flowers are considered "open" when the reproductive parts (male stamens or female pistils) are visible between or within unfolded or open flower parts (petals, floral tubes or sepals). Do not include wilted or dried flowers.
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What percentage of all fresh flowers (buds plus unopened plus open) on the plant are open? For species in which individual flowers are clustered in flower heads, spikes or catkins (inflorescences), estimate the percentage of all individual flowers that are open.

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Fruits Fruits
One or more fruits are visible on the plant. For Sphaeralcea coccinea, the fruits are clustered into a globose and many-segmented "fruit" with smooth green skin that becomes wrinkled or ridged as it dries out.
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How many fruits are present?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • More than 1,000
Ripe fruits
One or more ripe fruits are visible on the plant. For Sphaeralcea coccinea, a fruit is considered ripe when the segments are wrinkled or ridged.
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What percentage of all fruits (unripe plus ripe) on the plant are ripe?

  • Less than 5%
  • 5-24%
  • 25-49%
  • 50-74%
  • 75-94%
  • 95% or more
Recent fruit or seed drop
One or more mature fruits or seeds have dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit. Do not include obviously immature fruits that have dropped before ripening, such as in a heavy rain or wind, or empty fruits that had long ago dropped all of their seeds but remained on the plant.
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How many mature fruits have dropped seeds or have completely dropped or been removed from the plant since your last visit?

  • Less than 3
  • 3 to 10
  • 11 to 100
  • 101 to 1,000
  • More than 1,000
What do these phenophases look like?

The following Phenophase Photo Guides for this species have been vetted for accuracy by the USA-NPN National Coordinating Office. Most photo guides are developed for a particular local or regional monitoring effort, and some of the content may not apply to your effort or your region. However, we make them available to provide as much help as they may in illustrating phenophases for this species. If you have high quality phenophase photos that you are willing to share with us, please visit the Phenophase Photo Guidelines page.

Be aware there is variation from individual to individual within a species, especially across different regions, so your plant may not look exactly like the one pictured.

Since they do not always include complete definitions for the species, use these photo guides ONLY in conjunction with the official Nature's Notebook phenophase defintions included in the table above, in the phenophase definition sheet that downloads with the datasheet, or in the Observe screen in the mobile app.

USDA PLANTS profile for scarlet globemallow (USDA Symbol: SPCO )