Oregon checker-mallow (Oregon checkerbloom)
Malvaceae (Mallow family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a stout taproot and a branched crown, without rhizomes; stems erect, not hollow, glabrous to soft-hairy or with star-like hairs, 20-150 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves heart-shaped, long-stalked, shallowly lobed, toothed; stem leaves alternate, palmately 5-7 lobed into oblong segments, stalks reduced upwards; stipules purple-tinged.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of numerous flowers in open, loose, terminal clusters on stalks 1-10 mm long; petals 5, light pink to deep pink, 1-2 cm long; calyces 3.5-9 mm long, hairy to bristly-hairy or with long hairs up to 2.5 mm long, bractlets lacking.
Fruits:
Carpels, 2.5-3 mm long, 5-10, honeycombed on the sides and back, the beaks 0.3-0.7 mm long; seeds 1.
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Habitat and Range
Dry grasslands, shrublands and forest openings in the steppe and lower montane zones; rare in SC BC; S to WY, UT and CA.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Sidalcea cusickii subsp. purpurea C.L. Hitchc.
Taxonomic Keys
KEY TO MALVACEAE
1. Stigmas extending full length on the inner surfaces of the style branches.
2. Calyces with basal bractlets; carpels beakless ....................Malva 1. Stigmas terminal and head-like.
3. Leaves heart-shaped and toothed; petals yellow...............Abutilon
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 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 |