Appearance
The "Sphaeralcea ambigua" plant grows to 3 feet in height, and spreads to 2–3 feet in width. The leaves are fuzzy with white hairs on both sides, lobed, palmately veined, and on long stems, the number of which increase with age. The fruit is a brown capsule containing numerous seeds, first quite spherical as implied by the genus name, later flattening to a disk. The flowers are bowl-shaped, 5-petaled, apricot to orange in color, and bloom in the spring.
Habitat
It grows well in alkaline soil, both sandy or clay, usually in the company of creosote bush scrub and desert chaparral habitats, from 150–2,500 metres in elevation. It is found in the Mojave Desert, Great Basin deserts, and Sonoran Desert ecoregions.
Uses
The plant was used by members of the Shoshoni tribe of Native Americans as a food source and medicinal plant.References:
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