Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Forb/Herb

General: Perennial multi-stemmed herb, up to 2 m tall; stems erect, covered with white or yellow stellate hairs.

Leaves: Alternate along the stems, on petioles up to 2 cm long; blades up to 7 cm long and 5 cm wide, triangular with subhastate lobes at the base, or else deeply 3-lobed; leaf margins lined with rounded or pointed teeth.

Flowers: Various-colored and arranged in terminal panicles, on pedicels 1-3 cmm long; calyx 5-lobed, 6-7 mm high, the lobes elongate and triangular; petals 5 per flower, 10-13 m long, the color ranging from white to pink, lavender, purple, red, and red-orange.

Fruits: Schizocarps shortly urn-shaped, usually shorter than the persistent calyx, splitting into 12-14 wedge-shaped sections (carpels); carpels are 4-5 mm high and 2-3 mm wide, with the upper 50-75% thin and papery, the lower portion reticulate, and a 1 mm long apical cusp (a short sharp abrupt point) attached to the top of each and usually curving outward; each carpel contains 1-2 seeds, these black, brown, or gray and slightly hairy.

Ecology: Found in Chihuahuan Desert plains and scrublands, and adjacent dry juniper slopes, from 4.000-6,500 ft (1219-1981 m); flowers April-July (September).

Distribution: c NM to sw TX and n MEX

Notes: This is a relatively uncommon species, found in southern and central New Mexico and over the border into Texas and Mexico. It is distinguished by its flower colors, which range from white to pink, purple, red, and orange; its petioles, which are less than 2 cm long and much shorter than the leaf blades; its pedicels, which are much longer than the sepals; and its petal length, which is 1 cm or longer. The species is most similar to the even more rare S. procera, which has rose-purple flowers and smaller fruits, less than 3.5 mm high, that lack the reflexed apical cusps at the top of the carpels (see Fruits description  above for further explanation). 

Ethnobotany: Unknown

Etymology: Sphaeralcea is from the Greek sphaira, a globe, and alcea, the hollyhock genus (a type of mallow); polychroma means many-colored.

Synonyms: None

Editor: AHazelton 2017