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Post by Melanie on Mar 17, 2007 23:58:13 GMT 1
Known only from the type collection made in 1943 near the town of Deming in southwestern New Mexico. Exhaustive searches have not been made in the region but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers this species to be extinct.
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Post by Melanie on May 18, 2009 1:05:55 GMT 1
Sphaeralcea procera
(Porter's globe mallow)
[taxon report][distribution map][photos][line drawing]
Family: Malvaceae
Scientific Name: Sphaeralcea procera C.L. Porter
Synonyms: None
Vernacular Name: Porter's globe mallow
R-E-D Code: 3-3-3
Description: Stout perennial herb; stems woody at the base, to 3 m tall with multiple ascending branches; leaves 1-5 cm long, rugose, with stellate hairs, 3-lobed, the lateral lobes shorter than the central lobe, and irregularly dentate; flowers numerous in elongate, leafy inflorescences; calyx segments about 5 mm long, densely pubescent; petals 5, purplish-pink, 5-10 mm long; stamens numerous, filaments united at the base; fruit a schizocarp dividing into about 10 pie-shaped segments (carpels) that each have a short point at the top (apical process) and net-like reticulations on lower portions of the side walls. Flowers July to September.
Similar Species: Sphaeralcea laxa rarely reaches 3 m in height (2 m is exceptional) and lacks the apical process of the carpel illustrated for S. procera. The leaves of S. laxa average more deeply lobed than in the type of S. procera. Flower color of the sympatric S. laxa is variable, but reddish orange is most common. Sphaeralcea incana leaves are usually not as deeply lobed, and the carpels lack apical processes. Flowers of the sympatric S. incana are variable in color, but shades of orange to red are more common than pink to lavender. Sphaeralcea polychroma is also a large plant, but differs from S. procera by the lack of apical processes on the carpels. Sphaeralcea polychroma is endemic to the Rio Grande valley of central and southern New Mexico.
Distribution: New Mexico, Luna County.
Habitat: Unknown. The type collection is from a sandy arroyo in Chihuahuan desert grassland at about 1,350 m (4,400 ft).
Remarks: Sphaeralcea procera is known only from the type collection taken about 20 miles northeast of Deming. Its large size, leaves, and flower color are similar to S. polychroma. Further study may find these taxa to be conspecific, in which case, S. procera is the older name.
Conservation Considerations: This plant has not been relocated despite repeated searches of the type locality. If a good taxon, it may be extinct. The plant may have also been an aberrant form of another taxon. Nevertheless, searches near the type locality should be repeated.
Important Literature (*Illustration):
Kearney, T.H. 1942. The North American species of Sphaeralcea subgenus Eusphaeralcea. University of California Publications in Botany 19:1-127.
Knight, P.J. 1985. Status report on Sphaeralcea procera. For: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, Albuquerque.
La Duke, J.C. 1985. A new species of Sphaeralcea (Malvaceae). The Southwestern Naturalist 30(3):433-436.
*New Mexico Native Plants Protection Advisory Committee. 1984. A handbook of rare and endemic plants of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
*Porter, C.L. 1943. A new species of Sphaeralcea from New Mexico. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club70(5):531-532.
Information Compiled By: David J. Ferguson, 1998; revised, 2001
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Post by Melanie on May 19, 2009 22:50:47 GMT 1
Plant perennial, with soft wood, grayish pubeseance, with
stems up to nearly 300 cm tall , and up to 16 mm in diameter at the
base, with numerous ascending branches; leaf blades ovate-oblong,
1 to 5 cm long, 1/2 to 3/4 as wide, coriaceous, prominent veins
beneath, rugose, margins crisped, cuneate at the base and the apex
acute or obtuse, 3-veined from the base, for the most part 3-lobed,
the lateral lobes 1/2 to 2/3 as long as the mid-lobes; margin,
irregular dentate; petioles 5 to 10 mm long; inflorescence a narrow, many-flowered interrupted thyrse; calyx densely stellate-tomentulose,
with deltoid lobes up to 5 rm long; petals rose purple,
7 to 10 mm long; carpels 10 or less, up to 3 mm long and 2 mm wid,
galeate, narrow; and deeply notched, the apex muticous, the dehiscent
portion forming slightly over 1/2 of the carpel, the indehiscent
part coarsely reticulate laterally, ovules 2 and sometimes 1, seed
margin pubescent.
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Post by koeiyabe on Jan 3, 2020 19:27:11 GMT 1
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Post by koeiyabe on Jan 11, 2021 22:41:16 GMT 1
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