Cowboy's Delight

Not what you expected?

On my tree-following expedition last week, I saw patch after patch of Sphaeralcea coccinea in full bloom. For many years I knew it as Scarlet Globemallow—not surprising given the orange-scarlet flowers. Then last year I learned it's also called Cowboy's Delight. Cute name, but is it appropriate?

Members of a small impromptu focus group thought not. "Ma'am, a cowboy needs more than a flower to be delighted" explained one fellow. Another—Wyoming-born-and-raised—also was skeptical. "Cowboys don't like flowers unless their cows eat 'em."

Well, pardner ... cows DO eat 'em.

Animals graze and browse on the tastiest things available, so aggies and wildlifers rate plants as to palatability. However taste varies among species. And for a given beast, palatability depends on time of year, available moisture, and other site characteristics. But in general cows and elk find Scarlet Globemallow fairly tasty, while horses don't. Sheep love it (palatability excellent). Some small birds eat the fruits; bison, prairie dogs, jack rabbits, and various rodents utilize the plants for forage. It's especially palatable and important for pronghorn antelope.

This gal seemed to be curious as to what I was doing but then went back to eating.

Pronghorn's Delight, thriving next to a dirt road in open sunny habitat.

Sphaeralcea coccinea is a long-lived deep-rooted perennial subshrub that may grow to about a foot tall. Leaves are gray-green and deeply lobed. Flowers are pink to deep orange to scarlet, and are clustered at the tips of stems and branches.

Stellate hairs make the foliage gray-green. Matt Lavin on Flickr.

Many styles emerge from tubes of joined stamens, typical of the mallow family. Matt Lavin on Flickr.

Scarlet Globemallow is native and widespread in drier parts of the American West. It's extremely drought-tolerant, growing in full sunlight and avoiding shade, making it an excellent species to mix with grasses in reclamation. Perhaps this exceptional hardiness is what delights a cowboy. The colorful almost-gaudy flowers can appear unexpectedly, even during the driest summers, bringing a moment of pleasure to the cowpoke on his long hot dusty ride.

Sources

Biodiversity Institute, Wyoming Native Gardens. Scarlet Globemallow, Cowboy's Delight

NRCS USDA 2009. Plant Guide, Scarlet Globemallow, Sphaeralcea coccinea. PDF

Southwest Colorado Wildflowers. Sphaeralcea