E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Sidalcea hendersonii S. Watson
Henderson's checker-mallow (Henderson's checkerbloom)
Malvaceae (Mallow family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Sidalcea hendersonii
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Introduction

Henderson's checker-mallow is a native plant species found in wet meadows, estuaries and tidal flats in southwestern British Columbia.

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Perennial herb from a strong taproot and short spreading rhizomes; stems erect or decumbent, hollow, purple-tinged, glabrous or nearly so at the base, 50-150 cm tall.

Leaves:
Basal leaves round or heart-shaped, shallowly lobed, toothed, long-stalked; stem leaves alternate, stalks reduced upwards, palmately 5-lobed into oblong segments; stipules purple-tinged.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of numerous flowers in congested, compound, spike-like, terminal clusters on stalks 1-3 mm long; petals 5, deep pink, 1.5-2 cm long; calyces 9-15 mm long, 5-lobed, glabrous, fringed on the margins, bractlets lacking.

Fruits:
Carpels, 4 mm long, 5-10, nearly glabrous, the beaks about 1 mm long; seeds 1.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

KEY TO MALVACEAE

1. Stigmas extending full length on the inner surfaces of the style branches.

2. Calyces with basal bractlets; carpels beakless ....................Malva
2. Calyces without basal bractlets; carpels beaked ............................Sidalcea

1. Stigmas terminal and head-like.

3. Leaves heart-shaped and toothed; petals yellow...............Abutilon
3. Leaves mapleleaf-like or kidney-shaped and lobed; petals not yellow, colors various.

4. Petals usually more than 2 cm long; leaves 4-15 cm long; carpels glabrous on the sides, opening the full length at maturity.........................Iliamna
4. Petals 1-2 cm long; leaves 2-6 cm long; carpels strongly net-veined on the basal half of the sides, remaining closed at the bases at maturity ..................Sphaeralcea

KEY TO SIDALCEA

1. Stems hollow; plants with rhizomes....................S. hendersonii

1. Stems not hollow; plants without rhizomes.....................S. oregana var. procera

Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Wet meadows, estuaries and tidal flats in the lowland zone; rare on S Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and adjacent lower mainland; S to OR.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S3	Blue	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-21 4:33:02 AM ]

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