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

glaucous checker mallow, waxy checker mallow, waxy 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, 0.2–0.5(–0.7) m, glaucous, with taproot and caudex, without rhizomes.
Stems

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

usually few to many, clustered, sprawling or decumbent to ascending, rarely erect, not rooting, solid, glaucous, proximally usually stellate-puberulent, sometimes glabrous, distally 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.

basal and cauline, basal leaves 9 or fewer or deciduous;

stipules lanceolate, (2–)3–5(–6) × 0.5–1.5 mm;

petioles of basal and proximal cauline leaves 6–14 cm, 3–4 times as long as blades, reduced distally to 1/2 times to as long as blades;

blade reniform-orbiculate, palmately 5(–7)-lobed, deeply incised, 2–6(–8) × 2–6(–8) cm, glaucous, surfaces glabrous or minutely stellate-puberulent, lobes shallowly dentate, more deeply divided on distal leaves, margins entire, distalmost sometimes linear, unlobed.

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.

ascending, open, calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in bud, usually unbranched, 3–10(–20)-flowered, elongate, 1-sided, 8–20 cm, axis curved between flowers, sometimes zigzag in appearance;

bracts linear to lanceolate, distinct or connate and 2-fid, 5 mm, proximal divided to base, distal often undivided, shorter than to equaling pedicels.

Pedicels

1–2(–5) mm;

involucellar bractlets absent.

2–3(–10) 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 5–10 mm, enlarging in fruit, hairy, hairs scattered, minute, stellate and sometimes capitate, glandular;

petals pink to pink-purple, pale-veined at least when dry, pistillate (7–)9–12 mm, bisexual 15–20(–25) mm;

staminal column 4–7 mm, stellate-hairy;

anthers pale yellow or pinkish to white;

stigmas 6–8.

Seeds

2 mm.

2 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.

5–7 mm diam.;

mericarps 6–8, 3–3.5 mm, roughened, sides reticulate-veined and deeply pitted, back reticulate-veined and glandular-puberulent, mucro 0.3–1 mm.

2n

= 20.

= 40.

Sidalcea cusickii

Sidalcea glaucescens

Phenology Flowering Jun–Aug. Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep).
Habitat Moist to wet, mostly black, adobe soil, lowland and mountain meadows, often with Juncus and Camassia Dry, grassy meadows, open, usually red fir, juniper, or ponderosa pine forests, often serpentine
Elevation 100–200(–500), 1000–1400 m (300–700(–1600), 3300–4600 ft) (900–)1500–3000 m ((3000–)4900–9800 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
OR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; NV
[WildflowerSearch map]
[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 glaucescens is a relatively common, generally low-growing plant of relatively high elevations; it occurs from the central and northern Sierra Nevada to the southern Cascade and Klamath ranges and to north of Reno, Nevada. It usually can be distinguished by its highly glaucous, waxy stems and leaves, 3–5-lobed, entire-margined leaves, and basal leaves that wither by the time fruit is mature; additionally, proximal flowers are spaced several centimeters apart and leafy-bracted, and the inflorescence axis is curved between flowers. It has been confused with S. asprella, S. elegans, and S. multifida, to which it appears to be closely related. It can generally be distinguished from S. multifida by its 5(–7)-lobed leaves, the lobes shallowly incised or entire, its nonpersisting, fewer basal leaves, and its more-procumbent habit. Sidalcea elegans and S. virgata in southwestern Oregon also have been confused with S. glaucescens.

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

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 330. FNA vol. 6, p. 333.
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. gigantea, 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 S. montana
Name authority Piper: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 29: 99. (1916) Greene: Bull. Calif. Acad. Sci. 1: 77. (1885)
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