Sidalcea setosa |
Sidalcea candida |
|
---|---|---|
bristly checkerbloom, bristly-fruit checkerbloom, Edgewood checkerbloom |
white checkerbloom, white checkermallow |
|
Habit | Herbs, perennial, 0.5–1(–1.5) m, not glaucous, with thick, fibrous taproot or caudex and short, thick rootstocks that are not rhizomelike. | Herbs, perennial, 0.3–1 m, ± glaucous, with rhizomes wide-spreading, compact to elongate, 5 mm diam. |
Stems | 1–3, clustered, erect, solid, proximally hairy, hairs a mix of soft, appressed, stellate and/or longer, bristlelike, 2 mm, distally sparsely puberulent. |
single, clustered in older plants, erect, sometimes branched distally, solid, glabrous or moderately hirsute, hairs retrorse, simple proximally, becoming ± finely stellate-hairy distally. |
Leaves | basal and cauline; stipules deciduous, lanceolate, 4–7(–15) × 1–2 mm; petioles of proximal leaves 10–20 cm, 3–4 times as long as blades, reduced distally to 1/2 times blade length; blades: proximal orbiculate, shallowly or deeply 5–9-lobed, 5–10 × 5–10 cm, base wide-cordate to ± truncate, lobe margins coarsely crenate and dentate, apex 2–5-toothed, mid stem largest, 5–7(–9)-lobed, usually incised ± to base, 10–25 × 10–25 cm, lobe margins coarsely dentate to laciniate or entire, surfaces scabrid-hairy, hairs simple or forked, stiff; distalmost 5–7-lobed, lobes linear, subentire, margins ciliate, surfaces glabrescent or with few hairs on abaxial veins. |
basal and mostly cauline, not evenly arrayed; stipules deciduous, ovate, 10 × 2–2.5 mm; petiole (4–)6–18 cm, usually 1/2 times to as long as blade; petals often not overlapping, white to pale pinkish, drying yellowish, 10–20 mm; staminal column 6–9 mm, hairy; anthers bluish pink; stigmas 6–9. |
Inflorescences | erect, spiciform or subcapitate, dense, calyces usually conspicuously overlapping in flower and sometimes in fruit, branched, ca. 10-flowered, flowers/calyces overlapping, not 1-sided, 3–7(–10) cm, elongated in fruit; bracts lanceolate-elliptic, undivided, 3–8 mm, longer than pedicels, often longer than young flower buds, ± equaling calyx. |
|
Pedicels | 1–2 mm, to 4 mm in fruit; involucellar bractlets absent. |
|
Flowers | bisexual or unisexual and pistillate, plants gynodioecious; calyx 5–9 mm, to 10 mm in fruit, margins ciliate, minutely stellate-puberulent and bristly with longer, coarser, usually pustulate hairs usually on pads, bristle hairs 1–2 mm; petals pink to pinkish lavender, not notably whitish- or pale-veined, (5–)8–30 mm, pistillate 5–15 mm, bisexual to 20–30 mm; staminal column 5–7 mm, hairy; anthers white to pale pink; stigmas (6 or)7 or 8. |
|
Seeds | 1.8 mm. |
2 mm. |
Schizocarps | 6–7 mm diam.; mericarps (6 or)7 or 8, 2.5 mm, sparsely glandular-puberulent, margins usually sharp-edged but not winged, sides coarsely reticulate-veined to nearly smooth, back lightly reticulate-veined, usually prominently roughened at least on margins and/or back, pitted, mucro 0.5 mm. |
5–7 mm diam.; mericarps 6–9, 3–5.5 mm, sides smooth or slightly reticulate-veined, back less so, not pitted, top minutely hairy, mucro 0.5–0.8 mm. |
2n | = 40, 60. |
= 20. |
Sidalcea setosa |
Sidalcea candida |
|
Phenology | Flowering Jun–Jul. | Flowering (May–)Jun–Aug(–Sep). |
Habitat | Meadows, rocky hillsides, roadsides | Moist stream banks and meadows, mountains |
Elevation | 300–2300 m (1000–7500 ft) | (1400–)2000–3200 m ((4600–)6600–10500 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR |
CO; NM; NV; UT; WY
|
Discussion | Sidalcea setosa is distinguished by its branched inflorescence with each branch tipped by a dense spike, and by its conspicuously accrescent, membranous, bristly calyx. It intergrades with, and has been confused with, S. oregana subspp. oregana and spicata, and some authors have considered it to be doubtfully distinct from them. It is similar also to S. oregana subsp. eximia, and some plants show similarities to S. asprella. When mature, the fruit separates as a whole from the plant and can adhere to clothing or fur, an apparent adaptation for dispersal. It appears to be best developed and most frequent near Grants Pass, in the Klamath Range of Oregon. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Sidalcea candida is one of the more eastern species of Sidalcea (along with S. neomexicana) and is also one of the more easily distinguished because of its relatively large, crowded flowers with white petals, deep, wide-spreading rhizomes, pinkish-blue anthers, and nearly glabrous stems and leaves. It has become a popular garden plant. Hitchcock recognized two varieties based on calyx indument, var. candida with the calyx uniformly hairy, and var. glabrata with the calyx much more hairy at the base than on the lobes. Cockerell distinguished plants with somewhat pink petals as var. tincta. These differences do not appear to be taxonomically significant, and the varieties lack geographic coherence. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 353. | FNA vol. 6, p. 328. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | S. setosa subsp. querceta | S. candida var. glabrata, S. candida var. tincta |
Name authority | C. L. Hitchcock: Perenn. Sp. Sidalcea, 53. (1957) | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 24. (1849) |
Web links |