Sphaeralcea polychroma
SouthW. Naturalist 30: 433, fig. 1. 1985.
Plants perennial. Stems erect, white or yellow, to 10–20 dm, rubbery, densely soft stellate-pubescent. Leaf-blades white or yellow, deltate to lanceolate, subhastate to 3-lobed, 4–7 cm, secondary lobes to 2.2 cm, not rugose, base cuneate, margins crenate to dentate, surfaces green to white-canescent. Inflorescences paniculate, open, many-flowered, interrupted, tip leafy; involucellar bractlets green to tan. Flowers: sepals 6–7 mm; petals white, pink, lavender, purple, red-orange, or red, 10–13 mm; anthers yellow. Schizocarps short-urceolate; mericarps 12–14, (3.5–) 4–5.5 × 2–3 mm, chartaceous, nonreticulate dehiscent part 60% of height, with usually reflexed cusps to 2 mm, indehiscent part not wider than dehiscent part. Seeds 1 or 2 per mericarp, gray, pubescent. 2n =20.
Phenology: Flowering summer.
Habitat: Desert lowlands
Elevation: 1900 m
Distribution
Ariz., N.Mex., Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua)
Discussion
Sphaeralcea polychroma is frequent in central New Mexico and western Texas. It is closely related to S. procera.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
"not wider" is not a number."dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.