Globemallow

The Desert Globemallow, Sphaeralcea Ambigua, grows widely in the area around Price where I live and the pictures below were all taken near my home. This is quite a variable species, and populations in central Arizona tend to be pink, lavender or even white. The cup-shaped flowers have five rounded petals, with a cluster of tiny stamens at the center. Like other sphaeralcea species, the leaves and stems have a covering of tiny, star-shaped hairs. Leaf surfaces are crossed by prominent veins. Old specimens may be 3 feet tall and 3 feet wide, and have a dense cluster of stems that become woody towards the base. The plant inhabits arid desert areas in Utah, Nevada, California and Arizona, and its range extends up to pinyon-juniper woodland, plateaus and mid elevation mountain slopes.

This image was taken a number of years ago after a wet spring which resulted in many of the local flowers blooming profusely but the exact location has been lost.

A closeup of the Globemallow flower, taken in May, 2020, near my home in Carbon County, Utah.