Sidalcea pedata |
Sidalcea neomexicana |
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bird-foot checkerbloom |
mountain sidalcea, New Mexico checkerbloom, New Mexico checkermallow, New Mexico or salt-spring checkerbloom, Rocky Mountain checkerbloom, salt spring checkerbloom |
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Habit | Herbs, perennial, much of plant often tinted reddish purple, 0.2–0.4 m, not glaucous, with fleshy, simple to branched taproot, without rhizomelike rootstocks. | Herbs, perennial, 0.2–0.8(–1.2) m, glaucous or not, with thick, fleshy, tuberous or fibrous taproot and other roots clustered, fleshy, without caudex and rhizomes. |
Stems | clustered, erect to slightly ascending, base erect to decumbent-ascending, usually unbranched, (plants nearly scapose), solid, long-bristly with hairs often 2 mm, sometimes also stellate-hairy near base, usually becoming finely hispid distally. |
1–several, clustered, erect or ascending from slightly decumbent base, unbranched or branched, solid, infrequently hollow in robust plants, sometimes glaucous, proximally usually coarsely, densely to moderately bristly-hirsute, hairs often pustulose to sparsely stellate-hairy, sometimes glabrous, distally usually minutely puberulent or glabrous. |
Leaves | mostly basal, cauline 1–3; stipules lanceolate, 3–5 × 1 mm; petiole 6–9 cm, basal 2 times blade length, cauline 1/2 times blade length; blade usually orbiculate, 2–5(–6) × 2–5(–6) cm, base cordate, apex rounded, basal deeply dissected into 3–7 primary lobes, each less deeply incised and somewhat ternate, ultimate segments linear to oblong-elliptic, margins entire, distal blades repeatedly dissected with linear segments, surfaces densely hirtellous and stellate-hairy abaxially, less hairy with mostly simple hairs adaxially. |
basal and cauline, cauline 3+; stipules linear to wide-lanceolate, 4–8 × 1–2 mm; petioles of proximalmost leaves 10–25 cm, reduced distally to shorter than blade, to 5 times blade length; blade fleshy, margins often short-ciliate, surfaces sparsely hairy, less so adaxially, hairs simple-hirsute to stellate, appressed, basal orbiculate, unlobed, margins crenate, or shallowly 5–7(–9)-lobed, (1.5–) 2–6(–8) × (1.5–)2–6(–8) cm, base cordate, apex rounded, lobes with margins crenate to dentate, apex acute, distal cauline highly reduced or not, deeply, palmately (3–)5–7(–9)-lobed, smaller, ultimate divisions linear, margins entire. |
Inflorescences | erect or ascending, spiciform, initially dense, later open, calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in fruit, usually unbranched, usually 20+-flowered, proximal flowers remotely, evenly spaced, elongated in fruit, often 1-sided if ascending and not 1-sided when strictly erect, 15–30(–40) cm, elongating with fruits spaced, axis often wine-red; bracts linear, usually undivided, 2.5–4 mm, usually ± equaling or longer than pedicels. |
erect to ascending, open or dense, calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in bud, unbranched or branched, 20+-flowered, proximal flowers spaced 1+ cm apart, elongate, sometimes 1-sided, 10–25 cm, elongating in fruit; bracts linear to lanceolate, undivided or deeply 2-fid, 4–10 mm, usually equaling or longer than pedicels. |
Pedicels | 1–2(–3) mm; involucellar bractlets absent. |
5–8(–40) mm, equaling to much longer than calyx in fruit; involucellar bractlets absent. |
Flowers | bisexual or unisexual and pistillate, similar in size, plants gynodioecious; calyx usually wine-red, 4–5(–7) mm, usually not accrescent, finely stellate-puberulent, marginal hairs longer and often simple; petals dark rose-pink, sometimes pale-veined, 7–10(–12) mm; staminal column 3–5 mm, sparsely hairy; anthers white; stigmas 5–8. |
bisexual or, less frequently, unisexual and pistillate, plants gynodioecious; calyx 5–8(–10) mm, often accrescent, sparsely hairy, hairs simple, to 1 mm, pustulose, sometimes small, stellate, infrequently glandular, surface not obscured; petals pale pinkish rose or pale lavender-purple, bases paler, rarely white, veins usually pale, (6–)10–20(–25) mm, pistillate 8–12 mm, bisexual 18–20 mm; staminal column 5–6 mm, hispid-puberulent; anthers white; stigmas (7 or)8 or 9. |
Seeds | 2 mm. |
1.5 mm. |
Schizocarps | 5 mm diam.; mericarps 5–8, somewhat inflated, 2.5 mm, glabrous, smooth, back lightly grooved, not reticulate-veined or pitted, mucro 0.2–0.3 mm. |
5 mm diam.; mericarps (7 or)8 or 9, 2–3 mm, ± glabrous, sides thin, smooth to slightly reticulate-veined, not pitted, mucro 0.5–0.8(–1) mm. |
2n | = 20. |
= 20. |
Sidalcea pedata |
Sidalcea neomexicana |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Aug. | Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Aug. |
Habitat | Moist meadows, open woodlands | Desert alkaline springs, moist mountain meadows, wet ditches, marshes |
Elevation | (1500–)1600–2500 m ((4900–)5200–8200 ft) | 10–2800 m (0–9200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango)
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Discussion | Sidalcea pedata is known from Bear Valley and Bluff Lake in San Bernardino County. It is generally easily distinguished by its relatively small flowers, its stature, its wine-red inflorescence axis, calyx, and buds, its fleshy taproot and lack of rhizomes, and its dense basal cluster of palmately dissected leaves. It is threatened by development, vehicles, and grazing, and has been listed as endangered in California and also federally. Of conservation concern. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sidalcea neomexicana is variable among and within populations. It is similar to S. covillei and S. sparsifolia, the former possibly derived from it. Sidalcea neomexicana usually can be distinguished by its fleshy roots; hirsute stems; slender pedicels (especially in fruit); pustulate, coarse calyx hairs; and relatively smooth mericarp surfaces. Some plants (in California and Mexico) are well adapted to hot desert springs; overall, S. neomexicana appears to have roots and a rootstock adapted to marshy conditions. It ranges farther south than any other Sidalcea. E. M. F. Roush (1931) recognized no subspecific taxa; C. L. Hitchcock (1957) accepted four geographically and morphologically defined subspecies, three of which (crenulata, neomexicana, thurberi) occur north of Mexico. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 351. | FNA vol. 6, p. 346. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. spicata var. pedata | S. confinis, S. crenulata, S. neomexicana subsp. crenulata, S. neomexicana subsp. diehlii, S. neomexicana var. diehlii, S. neomexicana var. parviflora, S. neomexicana subsp. thurberi, S. nitrophila, S. parviflora, S. parviflora var. thurberi |
Name authority | A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 22: 288. (1887) | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 23. (1849) |
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