Sidalcea nelsoniana |
Sidalcea sparsifolia |
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Nelson's checker-mallow, Nelson's checkerbloom |
dwarf checkerbloom, southern checkerbloom |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.4–1 m, often glaucous, with thick, woody taproot and lateral rhizomes to 500 mm. | Herbs, perennial, 0.2–0.8 m, not glaucous, with thick, fibrous caudex or taproot and short rootstocks, rhizomes developed or not, 3–5 mm diam. |
Stems | clustered, erect, base decumbent-ascending, solid or ± hollow in age, usually ± glaucous distally, glabrous or sparsely hirtellous, hairs short, appressed, simple. |
1–20, clustered, erect to ascending or decumbent, usually not rooting, solid, proximally hairy, hairs simple, stellate, or mixed, 0.5–1.5 mm, distally usually stellate-hairy or glabrous. |
Leaves | basal and cauline; stipules sometimes deciduous, lanceolate to ovate, (4–)7–9(–14) × (1.2–)3–4 mm; petioles of proximal leaves 18–37 cm, 3–5 times as long as blades, distal 5–20 cm, to 1/2–1 times as long as blades; blades: basal reniform to rounded, unlobed and marginally deeply crenate or very shallowly palmately 5–7-lobed, 6–20 × 6–20 cm, base cordate, apex rounded; cauline deeply 5–9-lobed, lobes linear-elliptic to oblong-elliptic, margins usually entire, sometimes toothed, surfaces finely, sparsely hairy, hairs mostly simple. |
mostly basal, cauline to 5, (plant sometimes scapose); stipules linear to lanceolate, 2–8 × 1–1.5 mm; petioles of basal leaves 5–10(–25) cm, often 5 times blade length, distally reduced to 1/2 times blade length; blade orbiculate to reniform, 2–6(–8) × 2–6(–8) cm, base cordate, apex rounded, surfaces stellate-hairy abaxially, moderately minutely stellate-hairy to appressed-hairy adaxially, basal leaves usually shallowly 7-lobed, sometimes unlobed and margins crenate, cauline smaller, palmately 3–5-lobed ± to base, lobe margins entire or incised. |
Inflorescences | erect, spiciform, proximally open, distally dense, otherwise calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in bud, branched, 20+-flowered, proximalmost flowers spaced usually to 1 cm apart, not leafy-bracted, elongate, not 1-sided, 10–20 cm; bracts single, purple, mm, hairy; anthers white; stigmas (6 or)7 or 8. |
usually ascending, ± open, calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in bud, branched or unbranched, 10+-flowered, most flowers spaced 1+ cm apart, elongated, extending well above leaves, narrow, often 1-sided, (15–)30–45 cm; bracts lanceolate, mostly 2-fid, proximal bracts divided ± to base, distal sometimes undivided. |
Pedicels | 2–8(–15) mm; involucellar bractlets absent. |
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Flowers | bisexual or unisexual and pistillate, plants gynodioecious; calyx 6–10 mm, densely to sparsely stellate-puberulent, hairs usually longer, coarser, 2–4-rayed especially at margins and over veins; petals pinkish rose to pinkish lavender or magenta, pale-veined or not, base often white, 10–25 mm, pistillate darker, 6–15 mm, bisexual 12–25(–30) mm; staminal column 5–6 mm, puberulent; anthers white; stigmas (6 or)7–9. |
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Seeds | 1.5 mm. |
2.5 mm. |
Schizocarps | 4–5 mm diam.; mericarps (6 or)7 or 8, 2 mm, roughened, sparsely glandular-puberulent apically, sides finely reticulate to faintly rugose, sometimes also on back, to nearly smooth, not pitted, mucro 0.5–1 mm. |
5–6 mm diam.; mericarps (6 or)7–9, 2.5–3 mm, roughened, glandular-puberulent, lightly to moderately reticulate-veined, pitted, mucro 0.5–1 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
= 20, 40. |
Sidalcea nelsoniana |
Sidalcea sparsifolia |
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Phenology | Flowering (May–)Jun–Jul(–Sep). | Flowering Mar–Jun(–Sep). |
Habitat | Open fields, meadows, fencerows, remnant prairies | Moist, often grassy, open places, often on mesas, chaparral, pine-oak openings |
Elevation | (40–)100–600(–1300) m ((100–)300–2000(–4300) ft) | 10–2200 m (0–7200 ft) |
Distribution |
OR; WA
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CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Of conservation concern. Sidalcea nelsoniana is uncommon and persists generally in degraded habitats. It resembles S. campestris and S. virgata, with similar ranges, but is generally less hairy and has a smaller, usually purplish calyx. It has been listed as endangered in Washington and as threatened in Oregon; the number of populations and individuals has greatly declined as a result of land development. It is found in the Willamette Valley area from Multnomah and Washington to Benton and Linn counties in Oregon, and in Cowlitz and Lewis counties in Washington. Sidalcea nelsoniana is in the Center for Plant Conservation’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sidalcea sparsifolia intergrades with S. malviflora subsp. californica and S. neomexicana. None of the varieties described within S. malviflora subsp. sparsifolia is recognized here but one or more of them may merit distinction. Along with S. neomexicana, S. sparsifolia is one of the southern species of Sidalcea and one of the more tolerant of hot, dry, desert conditions. Sidalcea sparsifolia is the most common of the southern California species, occurring in the Sierra Nevada foothills and South Coast Ranges. It has been confused with S. neomexicana and with subspecies of S. malviflora. It can be distinguished from the former by its nonpustulate hairs, fibrous crown, and nonfleshy roots, and from the latter by its inland habitat, larger, ascending inflorescences, and tendency to have mostly basal leaves. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 346. | FNA vol. 6, p. 354. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. malviflora subsp. sparsifolia, S. malviflora var. hirsuta, S. malviflora var. stellata, S. malviflora var. uliginosa | |
Name authority | Piper: Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 32: 41. (1919) | (C. L. Hitchcock) S. R. Hill: Madroño 56: 107. (2009) |
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