Sidalcea asprella subsp. asprella
Harsh checkerbloom, sierra foothills checkerbloom, Sierra Foothills Checkerbloom
Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native
Harsh checkerbloom is a California native perennial found in northwestern California, the northern California Ranges, and northern and central Sierra Nevada Highlands in open woodland, dry rocky slopes, and lower conifer forest at elevations of 200 to 900 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces pink to lavender flowers with delicate petals 2 to 2.5 centimeters long. Growing 3 to 10 feet tall with often weak stems that have stellate-hairy bases, it spreads through short rhizomes less than 10 centimeters long. Its leaves are gradually reduced upwards, with lobed shapes and toothed lobe tips, covered in simple to stellate hairs. The plant produces fruit with 7 to 8 segments and a minimal beak approximately 0.5 to 0.8 millimeters long.
Habitat: Open woodland, dry rocky slopes, foothill woodland, lower conifer forest
Bloom period: May-Jun
Elevation: (100)200-900(1800) m
Bioregions: NW, CaR, n&c SNH
California counties: Shasta, Tulare, Placer, Modoc, Nevada, Butte, Calaveras, Madera, Mariposa, El Dorado
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.