Duration: Perennial

Nativity: Native

Lifeform: Subshrub

General: Perennial subshrub, erect 50-100 cm tall, grayish pubescent.

Leaves: Blades 15-50 mm, triangular, weakly 3-lobed, green or yellowish green, 3-veined, base wedge-shaped, truncate, cordate, crenate and wavy margin.

Flowers: Open long-branched panicle, petals orange, 2-3 cm, white anthers.

Fruits: Mericarps 9-13, less than 6 mm, 3.5 mm wide, truncate-cylindric, dehiscent.

Ecology: Found on dry, rocky slopes, and along sandy washes below 3,500 ft (1067 m); flowers throughout the year.

Distribution: sw UT,, e CA, s and w AZ, Sonora and n Baja Calif., MEX.

Notes: Most xerophytic of the Sphaeralcea, stems woody below and very numerous, one of the largest-flowered species, with petals reaching 3 cm, and leaves extending along the stalk.

Ethnobotany: Used medicinally for upset stomach, as an antirheumatic, as a cathartic, for colds, as birth control, for venereal diseases, as a poultice for swellings and sores, and as an eyewash.

Etymology: Sphaeralcea is from Greek sphaira, a globe, and alcea, a related genus, while ambigua means doubtful, or of uncertain identity.

Synonyms: None

Editor: SBuckley, 2010