Scarlet Globemallow
Scarlet globemallow places brilliant orange cups only inches above dry prairie soil, often where little else appears lush.
Artwork inspired by Harvey Dunn
Star-shaped hairs give stems and leaves a gray cast that reduces water loss. Deep roots and low growth help the perennial survive drought, grazing, and wind, while bees visit flowers that resemble miniature hollyhocks.
Confirm the divided leaves and hairy gray foliage; do not uproot a drought-stressed plant that may appear dead above ground. Note low gray-green plant with saucer-shaped orange-red flowers and palmately lobed leaves, time, weather, and behavior without handling or collecting Scarlet Globemallow.
- Best clue
- Low gray-green plant with saucer-shaped orange-red flowers and palmately lobed leaves
- Habitat
- dry mixed-grass prairie, badlands, and disturbed open ground
- Regional status
- Native regional species
Quick guide
- First read
- Orange-red cup flowers
- Second evidence
- Low drought-tolerant habit
A field check for Scarlet Globemallow
- Take the full view
- Start broad rather than close: assess low gray-green plant with saucer-shaped orange-red flowers and palmately lobed leaves.
- Find corroboration
- Now isolate gray hairy foliage.
- Match place and season
- Ask two contextual questions: does dry mixed-grass prairie, badlands, and disturbed open ground describe the site, and does may–August describe the moment.
- Protect the observation
- Use several angles on Scarlet Globemallow without picking, bending, or clearing the plants around it.
Good to know
Star-shaped hairs give the foliage its gray cast and reduce water loss, while deep roots help the plant persist through drought, grazing, and constant wind.
Notice these
- Orange-red cup flowers
- Gray hairy foliage
- Palmately divided leaves
- Low drought-tolerant habit