Sidalcea asprella subsp. nana

Dwarf sierran checkerbloom, Dwarf Sierran Checkerbloom

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Dwarf sierran checkerbloom is a California native perennial found in northwestern California (especially North Coast Ranges), the Cascade Range, and northern Sierra Nevada in open woodlands, grassy margins, and yellow-pine/Douglas-fir forests at elevations of 460 to 1,725 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces pale to rose-pink flowers with delicate petals approximately 1.7 to 2 centimeters long in bisexual clusters. Growing 1 to 5 decimeters tall with a prostrate to erect stem densely covered in star-shaped hairs, it develops rhizomes over 10 centimeters long. Its distinctive basal leaves are heart-shaped, typically 7-lobed, and deeply divided almost to the base, with leaves measuring 20 to 23 millimeters long and 22 to 27 millimeters wide. The plant bears sparse cauline leaves with deeply lobed margins, each lobe generally featuring three-toothed tips.

Habitat: Open woodland, grassy margins, yellow-pine/Douglas-fir forest, generally serpentine

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 460-1725 m

Bioregions: NW (esp NCoRH), CaR, n SNH

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.