Checkerbloom

Appearance

"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 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.

Naming

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 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.
⤷ "Sidalcea malviflora" ssp. "rostrata"
⤷ "Sidalcea malviflora" ssp. "virgata" — Dwarf checkerbloom

Distribution

"Sidalcea malviflora" is native to the West Coast of the United States, from Washington to California, and into northwestern Baja California. It is a common plant of chaparral, coastal sage scrub, and other habitat types.

Habitat

It is a larval host to the West Coast lady.