32 

 Sphaeralcea munroana (Doug, ex Lindl , ) Spach ex Gray 



SPECIES INFORMATION 

 A. CLASSIFICATION 



1. SCIENTIFIC NAME: Sphaeralcea munroana 



2. COMMON NAME: Desert Mallow 



3. FAMILY: Malvaceae 



4. GENUS: There are over 200 species of Africa and the 

 Western Hemisphere. (Greek sphaera, sphere, and 

 alcea, mallow, alluding to the globose fruits.) 

 There are only 3 species of Sphaeralcea that occur 

 in the northwestern portion of the United States. 



5. SPECIES: Sphaeralcea munroana is found in the 

 desert plains to lower mountains within the western 

 United States. 



B. PRESENT LEGAL OR OTHER FORMAL STATUS 



1. BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT: Sphaeralcea munroana 

 is proposed as a sensitive species for the Dillon 

 Resource Area. Documentation of it on BLM lands in 

 this study provides some basis for recommending that 

 its proposed status is appropriate, but more 

 information is needed about its extent in the 

 Centennial Valley and disturbance response. 



STATE: Sphaeralcea munroana is currently listed 

 by the Montana Natural Heritage Program as 

 "critically imperiled because of extreme rarity 

 (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining 

 individuals) , or because of some factor of its 

 biology making it especially vulnerable to 

 extinction" (state rank = SI) . No changes to MTHP 

 rank are recommended based on this work. 



C. DESCRIPTION 



1. GENERAL NONTECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Sphaeralcea 

 munroana is a perennial with a stout root. The 

 flowers are apricot-pink to red. The leaves are 

 crenate to lobed less than halfway to the midvein. 



2. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Sphaeralcea munroana is a 



