Sidalcea reptans

Sierra checker mallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: perennial · Native

Sierra checker mallow is a California native perennial found in the central Sierra Nevada Mountains in moist meadows and dry pine forest locations at elevations of 1,120 to 2,000 meters. Flowering from June to August, this plant produces dark pink to lavender flowers 12 to 20 millimeters long with delicate petals. Growing with prostrate stems 20 to 50 centimeters long that root freely and have dense long bristly hairs, particularly on the lower mid-stem. Its lowest leaves are unlobed and deeply crenate, while upper leaves have 5 to 7 lobes, with blades 2.5 to 5 centimeters wide and varying from bristly to nearly smooth. The fruit segments are approximately 3 millimeters long with deeply net-veined and pitted surfaces.

Habitat: Moist meadows, dry places in pine forest

Bloom period: Jun-Aug

Elevation: 1120-2000 m

Bioregions: SN (esp c SNH).

California counties: Mariposa, Tuolumne, Fresno, Amador, Tulare, El Dorado, San Bernardino, Nevada, Madera, Alpine, Placer

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