Sidalcea keckii
Sidalcea hendersonii
Keck's checkerbloom
Henderson's checker-mallow, Henderson's checkerbloom
single, erect, sometimes branched distally, solid, short-stellate-puberulent and long, soft bristly-hairy, distally with multicellular trichomes intermixed, hairs erect.
usually several, clustered, erect, usually purplish tinted especially near base, mostly unbranched, sometimes proximally hollow, base glabrous or sparsely hairy, hairs minute, simple or stellate, more densely scabrous distally.
cauline, 3–5 per stem;
stipules linear-filiform, undivided or rarely few-divided in robust plants, 3–5 × 1 mm;
petiole 2–4.5(–6) cm, usually 1–2 times as long as blade;
blades: proximalmost orbiculate, unlobed, 1–2.5 × 1–2.5 cm, base cordate with narrow sinus, margins crenate, apex rounded;
other proximals rounded, unlobed or shallowly palmately 7–9-lobed, 2.5–4.8(–6) × 2.5–4.8(–6) cm, margins coarsely crenate, sinus wide to narrow, surfaces stellate-hairy;
distals gradually reduced, orbiculate, more deeply 3-lobed, 1.5–2.5 × 1.5–2.5 cm, lobes obovate, apically widened to nearly truncate and narrowed to base, margins entire, apex 2–5-toothed, teeth subequal.
basal and cauline, ± fleshy;
stipules deciduous, often purplish, lanceolate to linear, 6–11 × 1–3 mm;
petiole often purplish tinted, those of basal leaves to 30 cm, proximalmost 3 times as long as blades, mid cauline 1–2 times as long as blades, distalmost to 1/2 times as long as blades and leaves subsessile;
basal blades orbiculate, unlobed or shallowly 5-lobed, 7–15 × 7–15 cm, margins crenate or dentate, ciliate, surfaces glabrous or sparsely hirsute, hairs sometimes forked, not stellate, mid cauline palmately 7–9-lobed, incised 1/2+ length, 7–12(–17) × 7–12(–17) cm, lobes cuneate, margins coarsely dentate to pinnatifid, apex toothed, surfaces: adaxial sparsely hairy or only on veins, ciliate, distal cauline leaves 3–5-parted nearly to base, lobes narrowly lanceolate to linear, margins coarsely dentate-laciniate.
erect to ascending, usually open, calyces not overlapping except possibly in bud, unbranched or infrequently branched, 5–12-flowered per branch, not especially elongate, usually 1-sided, 5–10 cm, to 5–15 cm in fruit, 1/2 times plant height;
bracts linear-filiform, undivided or rarely few-divided in robust plants, (3–)7–11 mm, longer than pedicels, usually much shorter than calyx, not involucrelike, densely stellate-hairy and pilose-hirsute.
erect, spiciform, dense, especially when young, sometimes elongate, calyces usually conspicuously overlapping in flower and sometimes in fruit, usually branched, 20-flowered, usually several to many open at same time, not 1-sided, 5–20 cm;
bracts purplish, lanceolate to linear, undivided, rarely 2-fid, 4–5 mm, longer than pedicels, shorter than calyx.
2–4 mm, to 5–6 mm in fruit;
involucellar bractlets absent.
1–4 mm, to 7–8 mm in fruit;
involucellar bractlets absent.
bisexual;
calyx 8–10 mm, to 11–14 mm in fruit, lobe base within with conspicuous, purplish spot 1–2 mm wide, hairy, hairs glandular and non-glandular, multicellular as in inflorescence;
petals dark pink, without pale veins, with or without reddish basal spot, 10–22(–26) mm;
filaments connate to apex of tube;
staminal column 3–5 mm, hairy, hairs relatively long, simple;
anthers white;
stigmas 4 or 5.
bisexual or often unisexual and pistillate, plants gynodioecious;
calyx somewhat urceolate, 8–9 mm, to 10–12 mm in fruit, lobes strongly reticulate-veined, sparsely stellate-hairy or proximally glabrous, lobe tips usually purple, rarely green, margins ciliate;
petals bright pinkish lavender, drying deep purple, veins not paler, bases not white, pistillate usually 8–10 mm, bisexual (10–)15–20 mm;
staminal column 6–7 mm, hairy;
anthers white;
stigmas (5–)7 or 8(or 9).
1.5–2 mm.
3 mm.
5–7 mm diam.;
mericarps 4 or 5, usually tinted pink when fresh, 3–4 mm, usually glabrous, back reticulate-veined, pitted, with prominent midvein, mucro absent but with 1–5 minute bristles in its place.
8–9 mm diam.;
mericarps (5–)7 or 8(or 9), 4 mm, smooth, glabrous (rarely sparsely glandular-puberulent), thin-walled, apical margins sharp-edged, not winged, back sometimes slightly wrinkled, mucro 0.8–1.3 mm.
= 20.
Sidalcea keckii
Sidalcea hendersonii
Sidalcea keckii, federally listed as endangered, was once thought to have been extirpated (S. R. Hill 1993); it was rediscovered in 1992. It appears to have occurred historically in at least seven counties; extant populations are thought to be very few. It is found in the southern inner North Coast Ranges in Colusa, Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties, and in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Fresno, Merced, and Tulare counties. It is closely related and similar to S. diploscypha and is often mistaken for that species; differences between the two are discussed under 8. S. diploscypha. Some plants of S. keckii in Colusa, Solano, and Yolo counties have divided bracts like those of S. diploscypha. Sidalcea keckii is vulnerable to agricultural and residential land development.
Of conservation concern.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Sidalcea hendersonii is showy and distinctive; it has been confused with S. oregana subsp. spicata and with S. cusickii, to which it is similar and apparently closely related. Like S. cusickii, S. hendersonii generally has purplish tinted vegetative parts, compact inflorescences with flowers that are mostly open at the same time, and ciliate calyx lobes. Sidalcea hendersonii is generally considered vulnerable; the number of extant populations has declined in recent decades, especially in Oregon, where it is close to extirpation. It can be distinguished by its marshy seacoast habitat, its often hollow stems, its tendency to be glabrous, its dense, compound inflorescences, and its relatively large mericarps and mucro. It is the northernmost species of Sidalcea and is the one better adapted to brackish or saline marshes. Sidalcea hendersonii occurs from Douglas County, Oregon, to British Columbia, and a single specimen is known from Alaska.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
CA
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
BC
OR
WA
Flora NW
PNW Herbaria
