Sidalcea malviflora subsp. purpurea

Purple-stemmed checkerbloom, Purple-Stemmed Checkerbloom

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Purple-stemmed checkerbloom is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native perennial found in central and northern coastal California, including northern Sonoma and southern Mendocino counties and San Mateo County, in meadows, open coastal forests, and prairies at elevations of 0 to 30 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces bright pink-rose flowers with white veins, 1 to 1.5 centimeters long, set against a distinctively purple-tinged calyx. Growing 20 to 60 centimeters tall with decumbent stems that are glabrous to sparsely bristly, it has a distinctive purple coloration especially at the stem base and stipules. Its leaf blades are 1.5 to 3 centimeters wide, short-bristly, with lower leaves typically unlobed and coarsely crenate. The fruit segments are 3 to 3.5 millimeters long with a coarsely net-veined and pitted surface.

Habitat: Meadows, open coastal forest, prairie

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: generally 0-30 m

Bioregions: c&amps NCo (n Sonoma, s Mendocino cos.), n CCo (San Mateo Co.).

California counties: Sonoma, Mendocino, San Mateo, Marin

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