Sidalcea malachroides

Maple-leaved checkerbloom

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Maple-leaved checkerbloom is a California native perennial ranked 4.2 by CNPS, found in northern coastal California regions including the North Coast, central Coast, and San Francisco Bay Area in woodland clearings near the coast at elevations below 700 meters. Flowering from April to August, this plant produces white to pale purple-white flowers 7 to 15 millimeters long in head-like spikes. Growing with several erect stems 40 to 150 centimeters tall, it develops from a woody base and is covered in harsh, stellate hairs. Its distinctive leaves are generally shallowly 5 to 7-lobed with coarse rounded teeth, similar in size and shape along the entire stem. The plant produces fruit segments 5 to 9 in number, each approximately 2.5 millimeters long with smooth sides and rounded outer edges.

Habitat: Woodland, clearings near coast

Bloom period: Apr-Aug

Elevation: < 700 m

Bioregions: NCo, NCoRO, n&ampc CCo, SnFrB, n SCoRO

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