Sphaeralcea coulteri (Coulter’s globemallow)

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Sphaeralcea coulteri (S. Watson) A. Gray

Coulter’s globemallow

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Malvales	Includes cacao, balsa, lime, linden, basswood, daphnes, hibiscus, hollyhocks, okra, baobab, cotton, kapok, and many others
Family	Malvaceae	Includes okra, jute, cacao, hibiscus, many others
Genus	Sphaeralcea	From the Greek sphaira, “a globe,” and alcea, a related genus, referring to the spherical fruits, the common name of this genus being “globe-mallow”
Species	coulteri	After Dr. Thomas Coulter (1793-1843), Irish botanist, physician, and explorer

About plant names...

Coulter's globe mallow is native to the Sonoran desert.

Identification: Plants reach 6-59" (15-150 cm) on sprawling stems. Leaves are gray-green, soft, thin, with three or five rounded lobes with coarse teeth, ½-1¾" (1.5-4.5 cm) long. Red-orange, white, or lavender flowers ⅜-¾" (9.5-19 mm) long have five roughly trapezoidal petals. It blooms from March to April.

Coulter’s globe mallow flowers, along with other mallows in this family of 1500 species, have filaments that are united into a tube in the center of the flower. Another common example is the hibiscus.