''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 of the United States The West Coast of the United States, also known as the Pacific Coast, Pacific states, and the western seaboard, is the coastline along which the Western United States meets the North Pacific Ocean. The term typically refers to the contiguous U.S ...

, from

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, and into northwestern

Baja California Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...

. It is a common plant of chaparral,

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

, and other

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

types.

Description

''Sidalcea malviflora'' is somewhat variable in appearance and there are many subspecies. In general it is a perennial herb growing from a woody caudex and rhizome, its stem reaching about 60 centimeters in maximum height. It is sparsely to densely hairy in texture. The leaf blades are variable in shape, but are often divided deeply into several lobes. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

is a dense or loose array of several flowers. The flower has five petals in shades of bright to dark pink, often with white veining, and measuring one to over three centimeters in length. Sidalcea malviflora ssp

Subspecies and endemics

There are over ten subspecies, some of which are endemic and rare:. They include: *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''californica'' — California checkerbloom. *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''dolosa'' —

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the San Bernardino Mountains. *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''laciniata'' *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''laciniata'' var. ''laciniata'' *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''laciniata'' var. ''sancta'' *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''malviflora'' — Checker mallow *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''patula'' — Siskiyou checkerbloom — endemic to far northwestern California and southwestern Oregon. *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''purpurea'' — Purple-stemmed checkerbloom — endemic to the California coast just north of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''rostrata'' *''Sidalcea malviflora'' ssp. ''virgata'' — Dwarf checkerbloom

Cultivation

''Sidalcea malviflora'' is cultivated as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that ...

, for use in traditional,

native plant In biogeography, a native species is indigenous to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only local natural evolution (though often popularised as "with no human intervention") during history. The term is equ ...

, water conserving, and

wildlife garden A wildlife garden (or wild garden) is an environment created by a gardener that serves as a sustainable haven for surrounding wildlife. Wildlife gardens contain a variety of habitats that cater to native and local plants, birds, amphibian ...

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 have been selected for flower colors and size qualities, they include: *''Sidalcea malviflora'' 'Little Princess' *''Sidalcea malviflora'' 'Palustre' — Palustre Checkerbloom — more compact and a heavier bloom produced. *''Sidalcea malviflora'' 'Party Girl' *''Sidalcea malviflora'' 'Rosanna' — Rosanna Checker Mallow

Ecology

It is a larval host to the

West Coast lady The West Coast lady (''Vanessa annabella'') is one of three North American species of brush-footed butterflies known colloquially as the "painted ladies". ''V. annabella'' occurs throughout much of the western US and southwestern Canada. The ot ...

.The Xerces Society (2016), ''Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects'', Timber Press.

References

External links