Sidalcea neomexicana |
Sidalcea robusta |
|
---|---|---|
mountain sidalcea, New Mexico checkerbloom, New Mexico checkermallow, New Mexico or salt-spring checkerbloom, Rocky Mountain checkerbloom, salt spring checkerbloom |
Butte County 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, (0.5–)0.8–1.2(–1.8) m, glaucous, with caudex and usually well-developed rhizomes to 0.5 mm diam. |
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. |
often single, usually scattered, erect, usually unbranched, solid or somewhat hollow in age, proximally densely, finely stellate-hairy, hairs spreading, distally glaucous, glabrous. |
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. |
cauline, mostly on abaxially, bristly-hirsute adaxially. |
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. |
erect, open, calyces not conspicuously overlapping except sometimes in bud, usually unbranched, loosely 10+-flowered, flowers 1+ cm apart, elongate, sometimes 1-sided, 30–40(–45) cm; bracts inconspicuous, lanceolate to linear, distal unlobed, 2–4 mm, proximal divided ± to base, 4–6 mm, usually equaling or shorter than pedicels. |
Pedicels | 5–8(–40) mm, equaling to much longer than calyx in fruit; involucellar bractlets absent. |
2–5 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. |
usually bisexual, sometimes pistillate, plants gynodioecious; calyx 10–15 mm, uniformly, densely stellate-puberulent; petals: bisexual pale pink, often drying yellowish, pale-veined or not, base pale pink to white, (15–)20–35 mm, pistillate usually darker purple, base white, 5(–10) mm; staminal column 6–8 mm, hairy; anthers white; stigmas (6 or)7 or 8. |
Seeds | 1.5 mm. |
2–2.5 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. |
6–8 mm diam.; mericarps (6 or)7 or 8, 3–3.5 mm, usually glabrous or very sparsely glandular-puberulent, distinctly narrowly wing-margined dorsally, sides lightly reticulate-veined, pitted, back less so, mucro 0.3–0.5 mm. |
2n | = 20. |
= 20. |
Sidalcea neomexicana |
Sidalcea robusta |
|
Phenology | Flowering (Mar–)Apr–Aug. | Flowering Apr–May(–Jun). |
Habitat | Desert alkaline springs, moist mountain meadows, wet ditches, marshes | Dry banks in chaparral at ecotone with foothill woodlands, often basaltic soil, with Quercus douglasii |
Elevation | 10–2800 m (0–9200 ft) | 100–400(–1300) m (300–1300(–4300) ft) |
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; NM; NV; OR; TX; UT; WY; Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango)
|
CA |
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.) |
Of conservation concern. Sidalcea robusta is one of the taller species of Sidalcea and can be distinguished also by its relatively long inflorescences with widely-spaced, showy flowers, its limited range, and its winged mericarps are notable. Rare and threatened by development, it is known from Butte County in the southern Cascade Range foothills and the northern Sierra Nevada foothills. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 6, p. 346. | FNA vol. 6, p. 353. |
Parent taxa | Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea | Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Sidalcea |
Sibling taxa | ||
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. asprella var. robusta |
Name authority | A. Gray: Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts, n. s. 4: 23. (1849) | A. Heller ex Roush: Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 18: 205. (1931) |
Web links |