Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rugosa

Roughleaf apricot mallow, Roughleaf Apricot Mallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Roughleaf apricot mallow is a California native shrub found in desert regions, particularly in desert scrub habitats at elevations of 150 to 2,500 meters. Flowering from March to September, this plant produces vibrant red-orange flowers in dense panicle clusters with yellow anthers. Growing with a distinctive wrinkled leaf texture, the shrub develops with upright branching that creates a robust desert form. Its leaves are markedly wrinkled on the undersides, giving the plant a distinctive textural appearance. The fruit develops with a dehiscent portion covering approximately 75% of each segment, contributing to the plant's reproductive strategy.

Habitat: Desert scrub

Bloom period: Mar-Sep

Elevation: 150-2500 m

Bioregions: D.

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

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