''Sidalcea ranunculacea'' is a species of flowering plant in the
mallow family
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 o ...
known by the common name marsh checkerbloom and marsh checker mallow.
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Description
The plant is 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 els ...
to 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 ...
, known only within Tulare County
Tulare County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 473,117. The county seat is Visalia. The county is named for Tulare Lake, once the largest freshwater lake west of the Great Lakes. ...
and Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county ...
. It grows in the Southern Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...
and Greenhorn Mountains
The Greenhorn Mountains are a mountain range of the Southern Sierra Nevada, in California. They are protected within the Sequoia National Forest.
Geography
The range is located in eastern Kern County and Tulare County. They are east of the San ...
at in elevation.Sequoia National Forest
Sequoia National Forest is located in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California. The U.S. National Forest is named for the majestic Giant Sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees which populate 38 distinct groves within the boundar ...
, Sequoia National Park
Sequoia National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and today protects of forested mountainous terrain. Encompassing a vertical relief of ...
, or Kings Canyon National Park
Kings Canyon National Park is an American national park in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and renamed to Kings ...
.
It grows in moist areas, such as wet meadows and on stream banks, in yellow pine forest
Ponderosa pine forest is a plant association and plant community dominated by ponderosa pine and found in western North America. It is found from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast Ranges in the Western United States and Western Canada. In ...
, red fir
''Abies magnifica'', the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at elevation, though only rare ...
forest, lodgepole forest habitats.
Description
''Sidalcea ranunculacea'' is a 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 h ...
perennial herb reaching up to tall. It is coated in hairs, the lower ones becoming bristly. The fleshy lobed leaf blades also have hairs and bristles.
The inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...
is a dense, spikelike cluster or series of clusters of flowers. Each flower has five pink to purple petals up to 1.5 centimeters long. The blooming period is June to August.
See also
*
References
External links
Calflora Database: ''Sidalcea ranunculacea'' (Marsh checker mallow, Marsh checkerbloom)Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Sidalcea ranunculacea''USDA Plants Profile for ''Sidalcea ranunculacea''UC CalPhotos gallery: ''Sidalcea ranunculacea''
ranunculacea
Endemic flora of California
Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Greenhorn Mountains
Natural history of Kern County, California
Natural history of Tulare County, California
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Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Malveae-stub