Sidalcea malviflora

Checkerbloom, checkermallow, Checkermallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Checkerbloom is a California native perennial found in coastal and mountain regions in grasslands, oak woodlands, and coastal prairie habitats. Flowering from April to September, this plant produces bright to dark pink flowers with white veining, 10 to 20 millimeters long, arranged in dense to open inflorescences. Growing 15 to 100 centimeters tall with generally hairy stems emerging from a woody rhizomatous caudex, it has a robust and spreading growth habit. Its leaves are dentate or lobed, with upper leaves much reduced and lower leaves more broadly shaped, typically showing variation in leaf structure along the stem. The fruit segments are 2.5 to 4 millimeters long, with a network of fine veins and a short beak.

California counties: Santa Barbara, San Diego, Sonoma, Mendocino, San Francisco, Del Norte, Humboldt, San Bernardino, Kern, Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Mono, San Mateo, Fresno, Monterey, Marin, San Benito, Tulare, Contra Costa, Tehama, Modoc, Amador, Santa Clara, Alameda, El Dorado, Mariposa, Trinity, Nevada, Alpine, Butte, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, Lassen, Siskiyou, Plumas, Solano, Sierra, Merced, Placer, Yuba, Santa Cruz, Inyo

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