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mountain sidalcea, New Mexico checkerbloom, New Mexico checkermallow, New Mexico or salt-spring checkerbloom, Rocky Mountain checkerbloom, salt spring checkerbloom

Del Norte checkerbloom, dwarf checkerbloom

Habit 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. Herbs, perennial, 0.2–0.6(–0.8) m, sometimes ± glaucous, with woody taproot or caudex and rhizomes, freely rooting, 20–30 cm × 2–4 mm, often mat-forming, forming clones often 1–8 m2.
Stems

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.

scattered, erect to ascending, base decumbent to erect, usually rooting freely, solid, proximally hairy or glabrate, hairs soft, simple and stellate, distally brittle, easily broken, glabrous-glaucous.

Leaves

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.

mostly basal or cauline 3 or 4 on proximal 1/3 of stem, much reduced;

stipules wide-lanceolate to ovate, 3–4 × 1–1.5 mm;

petioles of proximal leaves 6–12 cm, 2–4 times as long as blades in basal leaves, those of cauline leaves greatly reduced to 1/2 times or as long as blades;

blade rounded to reniform, palmately (3–)5–7-lobed, usually (1–)2–5(–10) × (1–)2–5(–10) cm, apex rounded, surfaces: abaxial harshly stellate-hairy, adaxial usually simple-haired, basal blades shallowly incised, lobes with 3 deep crenations;

cauline blades usually deeply 3–5(–7)-lobed nearly to base, lobe margins dentate or entire.

Inflorescences

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.

ascending, open, calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in bud, unbranched or few-branched, loosely (3–)5–10(–20)-flowered, not greatly elongated, 1-sided, 10–20 cm;

bracts narrowly elliptic, shallowly 2-fid, proximal bracts divided to base and often with leaf remnant between, 3–4 mm, usually shorter than to equaling pedicels.

Pedicels

5–8(–40) mm, equaling to much longer than calyx in fruit;

involucellar bractlets absent.

3–4(–10) mm;

involucellar bractlets absent.

Flowers

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.

bisexual or unisexual and pistillate, plants gynodioecious;

calyx 7–10 mm, slightly enlarged in fruit, uniformly, coarsely stellate-puberulent (some rays sometimes longer than others);

petals dark pink, pale-veined at least when dry, pistillate 10–15(–20) mm, bisexual 20–25(–33) mm;

staminal column 4–5 mm, sparsely hairy;

anthers white to pale pink;

stigmas 6 or 7(or 8).

Seeds

1.5 mm.

2 mm.

Schizocarps

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.

6–7 mm diam.;

mericarps 6 or 7(or 8), 3–3.5 mm, back not ribbed, roughened, sides and back strongly reticulate-veined-rugose and pitted (honeycomblike), top minutely glandular-puberulent, mucro 0.8–1 mm.

2n

= 20.

= 40, 60.

Sidalcea neomexicana

Sidalcea elegans

Phenology Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Aug. Flowering (May–)Jun–Jul(–Sep).
Habitat Desert alkaline springs, moist mountain meadows, wet ditches, marshes Open, dry woodlands, usually on serpentine
Elevation 10–2800 m (0–9200 ft) 100–200(–900) m (300–700(–3000) ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango)
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[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; OR
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Discussion

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.)

Sidalcea elegans has been included within S. malviflora; it is easily distinguished by its relatively long, slender, shallow rhizomes; open, one-sided inflorescences; and thin, brittle stems. It resembles S. glaucescens in its leaves and inflorescence and is easily distinguished by its rhizomes and soft, simple hairs at the stem base. It has been confused with S. asprella, from which it is distinguished by its simple, flexible hairs at the stem base and by its more developed and elongated rhizomes and variable leaves. Sidalcea elegans occurs in northwestern California and southwestern Oregon.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 346. FNA vol. 6, p. 331.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea
Sibling taxa
S. asprella, S. calycosa, S. campestris, S. candida, S. celata, S. covillei, S. cusickii, S. diploscypha, S. elegans, S. gigantea, S. glaucescens, S. hartwegii, S. hendersonii, S. hickmanii, S. hirsuta, S. hirtipes, S. keckii, S. malachroides, S. malviflora, S. multifida, S. nelsoniana, S. oregana, S. pedata, S. ranunculacea, S. reptans, S. robusta, S. setosa, S. sparsifolia, S. stipularis, S. virgata
S. asprella, S. calycosa, S. campestris, S. candida, S. celata, S. covillei, S. cusickii, S. diploscypha, S. gigantea, S. glaucescens, S. hartwegii, S. hendersonii, S. hickmanii, S. hirsuta, S. hirtipes, S. keckii, S. malachroides, S. malviflora, S. multifida, S. nelsoniana, S. neomexicana, S. oregana, S. pedata, S. ranunculacea, S. reptans, S. robusta, S. setosa, S. sparsifolia, S. stipularis, S. virgata
Synonyms 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 S. malviflora subsp. elegans
Name authority A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 23. (1849) Greene: Cybele Columb. 1: 35. (1914)
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