The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

Cusick's checkerbloom, Cusick's checkermallow, Cusick's sidalcea

giant checkerbloom

Habit Herbs, perennial, 0.4–1.8 m, not glaucous, with thick taproot and freely-rooting rhizomes usually 3–10 mm diam. Herbs, perennial, (0.8–)2(–2.5) m, not glaucous except on stems, usually in colonies, with rhizomes to 40–60 cm × (6–)10 mm, glabrescent with reflexed-appressed bristle hairs 2.5 mm.
Stems

usually several, clustered, erect, often purplish, often thick and hollow proximally, usually proximally ± scabrous, hairs stellate and distally stellate-hairy, sometimes glabrous.

single, scattered, erect, usually purple tinted proximally, hollow especially towards base, pithy distally, 10–14 mm diam. just distal to base, often glaucous, proximally densely retrorsely bristly-hairy and stellate-hairy, hairs pustulate, 1.5–2.5 mm, distally sometimes glabrous.

Leaves

mostly cauline;

stipules persistent or deciduous, lanceolate, 6–8 × 1–1.5 mm;

proximal petioles 25–30 cm, 4–5 times as long as blade, reduced to 7–13 cm on midstem leaves and to 2–3 cm on distalmost leaves, these to 1/2 times as long as blades;

basal blades wide-ovate to orbiculate, shallowly to deeply, palmately 5–7(–9)-lobed, 6–13 × 6–13 cm, lobe margins toothed, teeth rounded, sometimes Ribes-like, base cordate, apex rounded, surfaces: abaxial densely stellate-pubescent, adaxial glabrous or sparsely stellate-pubescent on veins;

cauline blades round, divided nearly to base, 5–9-lobed, lobes again deeply incised to subentire, 10–20 × 10–20 cm, distalmost 5–7-cleft to base.

mostly cauline, basal usually absent;

stipules deciduous, with pink band on stem at base, narrowly lanceolate, (3.5–)5(–8) × 0.7(–1.5) mm;

petioles of proximal leaves 6–8 cm, those of midstem leaves 10–14 cm, 2 times to as long as blade, apex curved with swollen portion or pulvinus 5–6 × 1.8 mm;

blades of proximalmost cauline leaves rounded, shallowly, palmately 4- or 5-lobed, 0.5–0.7 × 0.5–0.7 cm, lobe margins irregularly, sparsely dentate, apices rounded, mid-cauline blades 5–7-lobed, 6.5–12 × 10–13 cm, wider than long, gradually reduced distally, lobes straplike, divided 3/4 to base, lobes 5.5 × 1.5–1.8 cm, margins coarsely dentate, surfaces sparsely, minutely hispid and stellate-puberulent, distal leaves deeply 5-lobed, otherwise similar in shape, leaves immediately below inflorescence greatly reduced, irregularly 2- or 3-lobed.

Inflorescences

erect, spiciform, dense, calyces usually conspicuously overlapping in flower and sometimes in fruit, usually 20–30-branched per primary stem, 20+-flowered, elongate, not 1-sided, most flowers usually open at same time, branches relatively short, each spike unit 6 cm, longer in fruit;

bracts ovate-lanceolate to subulate, undivided, 1–6(–10) mm, subequal or longer than pedicels, much shorter than calyx.

erect, spiciform, open, calyces usually not overlapping, usually branched, branches 14–18 cm, each branch 10–20 flowered, not 1-sided, elongate, 5–20 cm;

bracts 1, usually undivided, narrowly lanceolate, often 2-fid, 2.5 mm, equaling or slightly longer than pedicel, much shorter than calyx.

Pedicels

1–2(–5) mm;

involucellar bractlets absent.

2–3(–5) mm;

involucellar bractlets absent.

Flowers

bisexual or unisexual and pistillate, pistillate plants more frequent than bisexual ones, some flowers may be staminate, plants gynodioecious;

calyx urceolate with swollen base especially in young fruit, pistillate 6–8 mm, bisexual 6–10 mm, strongly reticulate-veined, usually finely stellate-puberulent, sometimes glabrate, lobes usually purple tinted;

petals 7 or 8, pale pink, pinkish rose, or rose-purple, usually neither pale-veined nor white at base, pistillate 8–12(–14) mm, staminate or bisexual (10–)11–19(–23) mm;

staminal column 5–6 mm, hairy;

anthers white;

stigmas 7 or 8.

bisexual or unisexual and pistillate, plants gynodioecious;

calyx 5–6 mm, to 8 mm in fruit, uniformly, densely stellate-puberulent, surface obscured;

petals pale pink, pale-veined, pistillate 7–9 mm, bisexual (10–)14–20(–25) mm;

staminal column 6–8 mm, stellate-puberulent;

anthers white to cream or pale yellow;

stigmas (6)7 or 8.

Seeds

2 mm.

1.5 mm.

Schizocarps

6 mm diam.;

mericarps 7 or 8, 3 mm, apical margins ± rounded, sides smooth or slightly reticulate-veined, not pitted, back essentially smooth, very sparsely glandular-puberulent near tip, mucro 0.5–1 mm.

6–7 mm diam.;

mericarps (6)7 or 8, sides 3 mm, thick, back and margins thick, rounded, reticulate-veined, pitted, back with prominent groove, top sparsely glandular-stellate-puberulent, mucro 1 mm.

2n

= 20.

Sidalcea cusickii

Sidalcea gigantea

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering Jul–Sep.
Habitat Moist to wet, mostly black, adobe soil, lowland and mountain meadows, often with Juncus and Camassia Moist to wet, forested slopes, seeps, stream margins, meadows, coniferous forests
Elevation 100–200(–500), 1000–1400 m (300–700(–1600), 3300–4600 ft) (600–)900–1700 m ((2000–)3000–5600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Sidalcea cusickii is showy and distinctive. It has been confused with S. campestris, S. hendersonii, S. nelsoniana, S. oregana (subsp. spicata), S. setosa, and S. virgata. Molecular data support a close relationship with S. hendersonii and S. virgata (K. Andreasen and B. G. Baldwin 2003b). Hitchcock distinguished subsp. cusickii and subsp. purpurea, the latter with purple, ciliate calyx lobes and stem proximally glabrous and thought to be more closely related to S. hendersonii and S. nelsoniana. The two variations overlap in range and characteristics and are not recognized here. There appear to be two groups of populations at different elevation ranges with little overlap. Overall, S. cusickii can be distinguished by its range and by its spikelike, many-flowered, thick, compounded racemes in which essentially all of the flowers are open at the same time. It is also unusual in the preponderance of pistillate-flowered individuals in a given population and the presence of what appear to be truly staminate, rather than bisexual, flowers on some individuals. It is found in the Willamette and Umpqua valley region in Douglas, Josephine, and Lane counties.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Sidalcea gigantea is likely the tallest Sidalcea species; it can be distinguished also by its range (high Cascades and the northern high Sierra Nevada), retrorse hirsute stem bases, thick, hollow stems, and massive, hirsute rhizome systems. Most large patches appear to be clonal and generally produce either bisexual or unisexual, pistillate stems. Sidalcea gigantea is closely related to, and has been confused with, both S. asprella and S. celata. Its leaves are most like those of S. asprella in that they are usually similar in shape throughout the stem; the tall stems and massive rhizome systems distinguish it from S. asprella, as do its occurrence at higher elevations and its later flowering time.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 330. FNA vol. 6, p. 332.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea
Sibling taxa
S. asprella, S. calycosa, S. campestris, S. candida, S. celata, S. covillei, S. diploscypha, S. elegans, S. gigantea, S. glaucescens, S. hartwegii, S. hendersonii, S. hickmanii, S. hirsuta, S. hirtipes, S. keckii, S. malachroides, S. malviflora, S. multifida, S. nelsoniana, S. neomexicana, S. oregana, S. pedata, S. ranunculacea, S. reptans, S. robusta, S. setosa, S. sparsifolia, S. stipularis, S. virgata
S. asprella, S. calycosa, S. campestris, S. candida, S. celata, S. covillei, S. cusickii, S. diploscypha, S. elegans, S. glaucescens, S. hartwegii, S. hendersonii, S. hickmanii, S. hirsuta, S. hirtipes, S. keckii, S. malachroides, S. malviflora, S. multifida, S. nelsoniana, S. neomexicana, S. oregana, S. pedata, S. ranunculacea, S. reptans, S. robusta, S. setosa, S. sparsifolia, S. stipularis, S. virgata
Synonyms S. cusickii subsp. purpurea, S. oregana var. cusickii
Name authority Piper: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 29: 99. (1916) G. L. Clifton: Madroño 56: 285, figs. 1 – 3. (2010)
Web links