Sidalcea hickmanii subsp. parishii

Parish's checkerbloom, Parish's Checkerbloom

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Parish's checkerbloom is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in the Santa Barbara Mountains, Santa Rosa Mountains, and San Bernardino Mountains in chaparral, woodland, and open conifer forest at elevations of 1,000 to 2,200 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces pale pink to lavender flowers with petals 1.1 to 1.3 centimeters long. Growing with few stems 40 to 80 centimeters tall, the plant is coarsely covered in gray stellate hairs that overlap and give it a distinctive fuzzy appearance. Its leaves are crenate to shallowly lobed, also covered in stellate hairs, with a textured, soft gray-green surface. The plant's delicate flowers are framed by lanceolate bracts 6 to 10 millimeters long, creating an intricate floral display characteristic of the checkerbloom genus.

Habitat: Chaparral, woodland, open conifer forest

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1000-2200 m

Bioregions: SCoRO, WTR (Santa Barbara Co.), SnBr.

California counties: San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, Lake, San Luis Obispo

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