Sphaeralcea ambigua var. ambigua

Apricot mallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Apricot mallow is a California native shrub found in southern Sierra Nevada and desert regions in desert scrub and pinyon-juniper woodland at elevations of 150 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from February to July, this plant produces stunning red-orange to apricot flowers with yellow-purple anthers clustered in dense inflorescences. Growing with distinctive branching habit and reaching 30 to 90 centimeters tall, the shrub develops a woody base with multiple ascending stems. Its leaves are not markedly wrinkled, with rounded to somewhat triangular blades that provide a soft texture to the plant's overall appearance. The fruit develops with a dehiscent segment covering approximately 60 percent of its surface, contributing to the plant's distinctive reproductive strategy.

Habitat: Desert scrub; pinyon/juniper woodland

Bloom period: Feb-Jul

Elevation: 150-2500 m

Bioregions: s SNE, D.

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Kern, Riverside, Mono, Imperial, San Diego, Tulare, Sierra, Los Angeles, Mariposa

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.