Sphaeralcea procera
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Sphaeralcea procera is a presumably extinct species of plant from the mallow family (Malvaceae). It was endemic to New Mexico .
features
Sphaeralcea procera was a perennial plant with ascending branches that reached a height of 3 meters. The trunk was lignified at the base. The 1 to 5 centimeters long, three-lobed leaves were wrinkled and covered with star-shaped hairs. The lateral lobes were shorter than the middle lobes and serrated irregularly. There were numerous elongated flowers. The inflorescences were leafy. The sepals were 5 mm long and densely hairy. The five petals, 7 to 10 mm long, were purple-pink. The stamens were numerous. The stamens had grown together at the base. The fruits were split capsules made up of ten or fewer, narrow and deeply indented carpels (carpels that had grown together). The carpels were 3 mm long and 2 mm wide. They had short appendages on top and a reticulated structure on the side walls. The flowering period was from July to September.
status
Sphaeralcea procera is only known of the type material that was discovered in 1943 near Deming in Luna County , New Mexico , at an altitude of 1,350 m. Despite repeated searches in the type locality, the plant could not be rediscovered. In 1993 it was declared extinct by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service .
Assumptions that Sphaeralcea procera could have been an abnormal form of Sphaeralcea polychroma have not been confirmed to this day. The flower color of Sphaeralcea polychroma is similar to that of Sphaeralcea procera . However, in Sphaeralcea polychroma the appendages on the tips of the carpels are missing .
literature
- Jack M. Head: The Genus Sphaeralcea, Subgenus Eusphaeralcea (Malvaceae) in Texas, New Mexico and Arizona . A Thesis in Botany. August 1968.