''Sidalcea'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

(approx. 25 species) of the

botanical Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

. It contains several species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s known generally as checkerblooms or checkermallows, or prairie mallows in the United Kingdom. They can be annuals or

perennials A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also widel ...

, some

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

. They are

native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

to West and Central North America. In mid- to late summer the clumps of toothed basal leaves produce erect flowering stems, with 5-petalled mallow-type flowers in terminal

racemes A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...

, in shades of pink, white and purple. ''Sidalcea'' is generally

diploid Ploidy () is the number of complete sets of chromosomes in a cell, and hence the number of possible alleles for autosomal and pseudoautosomal genes. Sets of chromosomes refer to the number of maternal and paternal chromosome copies, respectively ...

(2n = 20), but

polyploid Polyploidy is a condition in which the cells of an organism have more than one pair of ( homologous) chromosomes. Most species whose cells have nuclei ( eukaryotes) are diploid, meaning they have two sets of chromosomes, where each set contain ...

y (4n, 6n) also occurs. Annuality appears to have evolved multiple times (4+) within this genus, although an ancestral annual state with annual

paraphyly In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In co ...

is also possible. Further, evolution rates within annual ''Sidalcea'' lineages appear to be faster than those of perennial lineages, at least when examining nuclear ribosomal DNA (internal and external transcribed spacer regions). Selected species: (A = annual, P = perennial) *''Sidalcea asprella'' (P) *'' Sidalcea calycosa'' – annual checkerbloom (A) *'' Sidalcea campestris'' – meadow checkermallow (P) *''

Sidalcea candida ''Sidalcea candida'', the white checkerbloom, prairie mallow or white checkermallow, is a wildflower found from Nevada to Wyoming and south to the southern part of New Mexico. The plant grows to three feet, and is also known as wild hollyhock. It ...

'' – white checkerbloom (P) *''

Sidalcea covillei ''Sidalcea covillei'' is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names Owens Valley sidalcea, and Owens Valley checkerbloom. It is endemic to the Owens Valley of Inyo County, California,Andreasen, K. and B ...

'' – Owens Valley sidalcea (P) *'' Sidalcea cusickii'' – Cusick's checkermallow (P) *'' Sidalcea diploscypha'' – fringed checkerbloom (A) *'' Sidalcea glaucescens'' – waxy checkerbloom (P) *''Sidalcea gigantea'' (P) *'' Sidalcea hartwegii'' – valley checkerbloom (A) *'' Sidalcea hendersonii'' – Henderson's checkermallow (P) *'' Sidalcea hickmanii'' – chaparral checkerbloom (P) *'' Sidalcea hirsuta'' – hairy checkerbloom (A) *''Sidalcea hirtipes'' - hairy-stemmed checker-mallow (P) *'' Sidalcea keckii'' – Keck's checkerbloom (A) *'' Sidalcea malachroides'' – mapleleaf checkerbloom (P) *''

Sidalcea malviflora ''Sidalcea malviflora'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, known by the common names dwarf checkerbloom, Greek mallow, prairie mallow and dwarf checkermallow. Distribution ''Sidalcea malviflora'' is native to the West Coast o ...

'' – dwarf checkerbloom *''Sidalcea multifida'' (P) *'' Sidalcea nelsoniana'' – Nelson's checkermallow (threatened) *'' Sidalcea neomexicana'' – Salt Spring checkerbloom (P) *''

Sidalcea oregana ''Sidalcea oregana'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name Oregon checkerbloom. Distribution It is native to western North America from British Columbia to California to Utah, where it grows in a number o ...

'' – Oregon checkerbloom (miniature hollyhock) **'' Sidalcea oregana var. calva'' – Wenatchee Mountains checkermallow *'' Sidalcea pedata'' – birdfooted checkerbloom, Big Bear checkerbloom (P) *'' Sidalcea ranunculacea'' – marsh checkerbloom *'' Sidalcea reptans'' – Sierra checkerbloom *'' Sidalcea robusta'' – Butte County checkerbloom (P) *''

Sidalcea stipularis ''Sidalcea stipularis'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the mallow family, known by the common name Scadden Flat checkerbloom. The plant is endemic to Nevada County in eastern California. It is known from only two occurrences on Scadd ...

'' – Scadden Flat checkerbloom (P) *''Sidalcea virgata'' (P) Garden

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...

s are hybrids between ''S. candida'' and ''S. malviflora''. The perennial cultivars "Elsie Heugh", 'Oberon' and "William Smith" have gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nort ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

Gallery

Sidalcea_hirtipes_3554f.JPG, ''Sidalcea hirtipes'' Checkerbloom, Bay Area.jpg, ''Sidalcea malviflora'' Sidalcea cusickii.jpg, ''Sidalcea cusickii'' Sidalcea-Hybride Elsie Heugh 02.jpg, cv. ’Elsie Heugh’

References

*
US Fish and Wildlife page on Sidalcea nelsoniana.

External links

*
List of ''Sidalcea'' species in California
at Calflora Malvaceae genera {{Malveae-stub