Bright orange, it’s one of the more beautiful, abundant desert flowers — and something to look forward to as 2023 bends ever so slowly toward spring, when the globe-mallow is at its orangiest.
It likes the sun and can work with whatever water the environment provides. Local writer Kristen Peterson once noted, when you see one in suburban desert landscaping, they’re a vivid reminder of the wild desert this used to be.
Just be careful where you put your fingers after you touch one, the USDA warns: “It is interesting to note that while globe-mallow was used by the Shoshone as an eye medicine, the English and Spanish names ‘sore eye poppy’ and ‘mal de ojo’ are elsewhere attributed to eye irritation caused by contact with the leaf hairs.”
Noted!
The Desert Globe-Mallow
Sciency name: Sphaeralcea ambigua
Blooms: Most readily in spring, but all the way into November.
One last fact: Because they're hardy and have deep roots, globe-mallows have been "used to revegetate abandoned mines," according to the USDA.
