Sidalcea diploscypha |
Sidalcea sparsifolia |
|
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fringe checker mallow, fringe checkerbloom |
dwarf checkerbloom, southern checkerbloom |
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Habit | Herbs, annual, 0.2–0.7 m, not glaucous, with taproot. | 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 | single, erect, usually branched distally, solid, both short-stellate-puberulent and long soft bristly-hairy, hairs erect. |
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, early-deciduous, and cauline; mid to distal stem stipules divided into 2–5 filiform or linear segments, involucrelike, 10+ × 1 mm; petiole (4–)6–20(–50) cm, usually 1/2 times to as long as blade; basal leaf blades orbiculate, unlobed, 1–2.5 × 1–2.5 cm, base cordate, margins crenate, apex rounded; cauline leaf blades orbiculate, palmately 5–7-lobed, (1–)2–6 × (1–)2–6 cm, lobes linear distally, sometimes 3-toothed or -lobed, then midtooth or lobe much longer than laterals, margins entire, surfaces bristly-puberulent. |
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, dense, calyces overlapping, occasionally short-branched, clusters to 10-flowered, subumbellate to elongate in age, not 1-sided; bracts linear or filiform, palmately 2–7-lobed, 8–12 mm, lobes linear, usually becoming involucrelike, 1–2.5 cm, subequal to or longer than calyx. |
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 | 1–3 mm, (short branches may easily be mistaken for pedicels); involucellar bractlets absent. |
2–8(–15) mm; involucellar bractlets absent. |
Flowers | bisexual; calyx 8–12 mm, not much accrescent, lobes often with narrow purple line or spot at lobe base inside, outer surface bristly-hairy and stellate-puberulent, seldom densely glandular, multicellular hairs usually few or absent; petals dark pink to deep purple, veins often paler, darker patch sometimes at base, 20–35 mm; staminal column 4–6 mm, hairy; anthers sessile on rim, white; stigmas 5 or 6. |
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. |
Seeds | 2 mm. |
2.5 mm. |
Schizocarps | 6–7 mm diam.; mericarps 5 or 6, sometimes pinkish when fresh, 2.5 mm, glabrous, back minutely hairy, back and sides reticulate-veined, back with prominent midvein, not pitted, mucro absent. |
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 diploscypha |
Sidalcea sparsifolia |
|
Phenology | Flowering Apr–May(–Jun). | Flowering Mar–Jun(–Sep). |
Habitat | Grasslands, open woodlands, valleys, near vernal pools, usually on serpentine | Moist, often grassy, open places, often on mesas, chaparral, pine-oak openings |
Elevation | 0–900 m (0–3000 ft) | 10–2200 m (0–7200 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR
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CA; Mexico (Baja California)
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Discussion | Sidalcea diploscypha is widespread in central and northern California and occurs also in Douglas County, Oregon, where it is apparently introduced. Young plants, even in flower, may resemble S. keckii, and transitional plants are known; S. diploscypha generally differs from S. keckii by its longer divided bracts, usually entire lobes on its distal stem leaves, simple bristles on the calyx, bristles absent at the standard mucro position on the mericarp, relatively few glandular and multicellular hairs, and generally clustered flowers and fruits. Plants in Colusa, Napa, Solano, and Yolo counties, California, are sometimes hard to distinguish from S. keckii, and vice versa. Some plants in Butte and Lake counties, California, also show some transitional features; none have yet been assigned to S. keckii. (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. 330. | FNA vol. 6, p. 354. |
Parent taxa | Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea | Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Sida diploscypha, S. diploscypha var. minor, S. secundiflora | S. malviflora subsp. sparsifolia, S. malviflora var. hirsuta, S. malviflora var. stellata, S. malviflora var. uliginosa |
Name authority | (Torrey & A. Gray) A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 19. (1849) | (C. L. Hitchcock) S. R. Hill: Madroño 56: 107. (2009) |
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