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Key to Sphaeralcea

Malvaceae

Sphaeralcea

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1 Leaf blades elongate, 3-10× as long as wide, unlobed, or with 2 basal (hastate) lobes.
  2 Stems erect, (3-) 6-20 dm tall; leaf base cuneate
  2 Stems decumbent to ascending, 1-3 (-5) dm tall; leaf base cuneate to cordate
1 Leaf blades broad, 1-2.5× as long as wide (in outline), shallowly or deeply palmately 3-5-lobed.
    3 Plant erect, 10-15 dm tall; flowers many in clusters subtended by well-developed leaves; [historical waif]
    3 Plant erect, ascending or decumbent, < 7 dm tall or long; flowers in terminal racemes; [native, OK and TX westwards]
      4 Leaf blades unlobed to shallowly 3-5 lobed; petals 15-25 mm long; seeds 2-3 per mericarp
      4 Leaf blades deeply 3-5-lobed or -parted, the lobes themselves lobed; petals 5-20 mm long; seeds 1 per mericarp.
        5 Mericarps 10-14 per schizocarp, the walls coriaceous; plant rather densely stellate-canescent, light green to gray; [Plainsian, c. OK, and nc. and c. TX]
        5 Mericarps 15-20 per schizocarp, the walls thin and chartaceous; plant sparsely stellate-pubescent, green to gray-green; [sc. to s. TX]