Sidalcea calycosa
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Sidalcea calycosa (5987666129).jpg
|genus = Sidalcea
|species = calycosa
|authority = M.E.Jones
| status = G5
| status_system = TNC
| status_ref = {{cite web | url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.146203/Sidalcea_calycosa | title=NatureServe Explorer 2.0 }}
}}
Sidalcea calycosa is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names annual checkerbloom, checker mallow, and vernal pool checkerbloom.[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Sidalcea+calycosa Calflora Database: Sidalcea calycosa]{{PLANTS|id=SICA|taxon=Sidalcea calycosa|accessdate=12 November 2015}}
Distribution
The plant is endemic to California, along the North Coast and adjacent Northern California Coast Ranges from Mendocino County to Marin County in the northern San Francisco Bay Area, and in sections of the western Sierra Nevada foothills from Butte County south into Tulare County.
It grows in wetland habitats, including marshes and vernal pools, in oak woodland and chaparral openings, grasslands, and coastal salt marsh plant communities.
Description
Sidalcea calycosa is a rhizomatous herb growing {{convert|30|cm|in}} to nearly {{convert|1|m|ft}} tall. Despite its common name it may be annual or perennial, depending on the subspecies. The leaves have blades deeply divided into narrow linear lobes, almost divided into leaflets.
The inflorescence is a dense, showy panicle of several flowers each with five pink, purplish, or white petals up to 2.5 centimeters long. The bloom period is April through September.
=Subspecies=
The two subspecies are:
- Sidalcea calycosa ssp. calycosa — annual, blooms March to June, below {{convert|1200|m|ft}}.[http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Sidalcea+calycosa+ssp.+calycosa Calflora: Sidalcea calycosa ssp. calycosa]
- Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata — Point Reyes checkerbloom, the perennial subspecies, rare and known only from a few swampy areas of the coastline below {{convert|30|m|ft}} in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin Counties.[http://northcoastcnps.org/cgi-bin/inv/inventory.cgi/Go?_id=sidalcea_calycosa_ssp._rhizomata&sort=DEFAULT&search=Sidalcea%20calycosa%20subsp.%20rhizomata California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile][http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Sidalcea+calycosa+ssp.+rhizomata Calflora: Sidalcea calycosa ssp. rhizomata (Point Reyes checkerbloom)]
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Sidalcea+calycosa Calflora Database: Sidalcea calycosa (Annual checkerbloom, Checker mallow)]
- [https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=44409 Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of Sidalcea calycosa]
- [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SICA USDA Plants Profile for Sidalcea calycosa (annual checkerbloom)]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?query_src=photos_index&where-taxon=Sidalcea+calycosa UC CalPhotos gallery: Sidalcea calycosa]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7507970}}
Category:Endemic flora of California
Category:Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
Category:Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
Category:Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Category:Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
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