Sidalcea hickmanii
Encyclopedia
Sidalcea hickmanii is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family
known generally by the common name chaparral checkerbloom.
at the base. The leaves have wide, fan-shaped blades which have rippled edges or divisions into narrow lobes. The inflorescence
is an array of several raceme
s of flowers. Each has pinkish to purplish petals up to 2.5 centimeters long.
, where it grows in the Central Coast Ranges, the Transverse Ranges
and parts of the northern coast. There are four subspecies, most of which are separated geographically. The plant grows in chaparral
and other habitat, sometimes on serpentine soil
s.
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
known generally by the common name chaparral checkerbloom.
Description
This perennial herb produces a rough-haired stem up to a meter tall with a woody caudexCaudex
A caudex is a form of stem morphology appearing as a thickened, short, perennial stem that is either underground or near ground level . It may be swollen for the purpose of water storage, especially in xerophytes...
at the base. The leaves have wide, fan-shaped blades which have rippled edges or divisions into narrow lobes. The inflorescence
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. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an array of several raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s of flowers. Each has pinkish to purplish petals up to 2.5 centimeters long.
Subspecies
- S. h. ssp. anomala - Cuesta Pass checkerbloom is a rare subspecies known only from the vicinity of the Hwy. 101 Cuesta Pass in the southern Santa Lucia MountainsSanta Lucia MountainsThe Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...
, in San Luis Obispo CountySan Luis Obispo County, CaliforniaSan Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...
, where it is limited to serpentine substrates. It has deeply lobed to almost compound leaves. While rare it becomes locally abundant in areas recently burned by wildfireWildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
. - S. h. ssp. hickmanii - Hickman's checkerbloom is limited to the Santa Lucia MountainsSanta Lucia MountainsThe Santa Lucia Mountains or Santa Lucia Range is a mountain range in coastal California, running from Monterey southeast for 105 miles to San Luis Obispo. The highest summit is Junipero Serra Peak, in Monterey County...
of Monterey CountyMonterey County, CaliforniaMonterey County is a county located on the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California, its northwestern section forming the southern half of Monterey Bay. The northern half of the bay is in Santa Cruz County. As of 2010, the population was 415,057. The county seat and largest city is Salinas...
. - S. h. ssp. parishii - Parish's checkerbloom is a rare subspecies which has a disjunct distributionDisjunct distributionIn biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
in the Transverse RangesTransverse RangesThe Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
. It is known from the Santa Ynez MountainsSanta Ynez MountainsThe Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America, and are one of the northernmost mountain ranges in Southern California.-Geography:...
north of Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, as well as the San Bernardino MountainsSan Bernardino MountainsThe San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
on the inland eastern side of the greater Los Angeles BasinLos Angeles BasinThe Los Angeles Basin is the coastal sediment-filled plain located between the Peninsular and Transverse ranges in southern California in the United States containing the central part of the city of Los Angeles as well as its southern and southeastern suburbs...
area. - S. h. ssp. viridis - Marin checkerbloom is known from Marin CountyMarin County, CaliforniaMarin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
and the northern San Francisco Bay AreaSan Francisco Bay AreaThe San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
, several hundred miles from the other subspecies.
Distribution
Sidalcea hickmanii is endemic to CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in the Central Coast Ranges, the Transverse Ranges
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region that runs along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Mexico in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie between...
and parts of the northern coast. There are four subspecies, most of which are separated geographically. The plant grows in chaparral
Chaparral
Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and other habitat, sometimes on serpentine soil
Serpentine soil
A serpentine soil is derived from ultramafic rocks, in particular serpentinite, a rock formed by the hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle....
s.