Vegetation Around Las Vegas, Desert Fivespot (Eremalche rotundifolia)

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Desert Fivespot (Eremalche rotundifolia)
Annual Forbs Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas

General: Desert Fivespot (Eremalche rotundifolia) is an annual forb with mostly basal leaves and distinctive globular flowers. The flowers are held on upright stalks, one flower per stalk, and the large petals fold up to form a globe-shaped flower with a hollow center. The petals are pinkish with a large red or purple spot at the base of each.

Desert Fivespot is a fairly common component of desert vegetation communities during the spring. It can be found on flats, in and along washes, and on bajadas into the lower mountains in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones.

Look for this species on the floor of Death Valley, near Nelson Landing along Lake Mohave (Lake Mead NRA), and near China Ranch.

Family: Mallow (Malvaceae).

Other Names: Malvastrum rotundifolia, Desert Five-Spot.

Plant Form: Annual forb with basal leaves and upright flower stalks.

Height: Usually about shin high, flower stalks to about 2 feet.

Stems: Erect flower stems.

Leaves: Roundish, to about 2-inches wide.

Flowers: Blooms during spring and early summer. Inflorescence: single flower atop a stalk. Flower: Petals to about 2-inches long; petals fold up to form a globe-shaped flower with a hollow center. Petals pinkish with a purple spot on each.

Plant before flowering. Note the red color, round shape,
and blades that turn towards the sun

Seeds: Fruit: segmented capsules.

Habitat: Dry, well-drained sandy, gravelly, and rocky soils on upper bajadas and moderate slopes in the lower mountains.

Elevation: From below sea level in Death Valley to about 4,000 feet.

Distribution: Nevada to California and Arizona.

Comments:



Liz finds a Desert Fivespot!	Liz finding another Desert Fivespot!
Red leaves	Red leaves tilted towards the rising sun

Desert Fivespot stems and leaves are covered with long hairs	Desert Fivespot stems and leaves are covered with long hairs
Desert Fivespot leaves are covered with stellate (starburst) hairs	Desert Fivespot leaves are covered with stellate (starburst) hairs





Desert Fivespot flower	Desert Fivespot flowers close at night
Desert Fivespot seeds ready to scatter	Desert Fivespot seeds ready to scatter
Dried flower	Dried flower with seeds, which form as disks in a ring
Desert Fivespot seeds	Desert Fivespot seeds

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
; Last updated 211222

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