Fringed Checker Bloom

Fringed Checker Mallow
Sidalcea diploscypha
NATIVE – CA ENDEMIC

Description (Jepson, PlantID.net)

• Eudicotyledon
  • Eudicots are a major lineage of flowering plants; see family for general characteristics
• Mallow Family (Malvaceae)
• Annual herb
  • Whole plant bristly hairy
• Leaves
  • Alternate (1 leaf at each junction with stem) and simple (not divided into leaflets)
  • Fine bristly hairs on both sides
  • 2 types
    • Basal leaves are round, with shallow lobes, and are early deciduous
    • Cauline (on the stem) leaves are deeply divided with narrow, forking lobes
  • Stipules (pair of leaf-like structures at the base of the leaf stalk) are divided into 2 or more linear lobes
• Flowers
  • Inflorescence (flower arrangement) is a crowded cluster of several flowers
    • Bracts (modified leaves) at base are long (≤ 0.4 in.) and frilly, divided into 2-4 linear lobes
  • Each cup-shaped flower has 5 free petals
    • Pink, lightning to white at base, with white or pinkish veins
      • Some forms, not found at Edgewood, have dark spots at base
  • Ovary superior (above the attachment of other flower parts)
• Fruit a capsule (a dry, multi-chambered fruit that splits open at maturity)
• Height to 24 in.

Distribution

• Native and endemic (limited) to California, although Jepson reports occurrences in western Oregon
  • Grows in grasslands and open woodlands
  • 65-74% of plants occur on ultramafic soils, e.g. serpentine; see ultramafic affinity rankings (Calflora per Safford and Miller 2020)
  • See Serpentine Grassland for more about Edgewood’s serpentine soil and the unique communities it supports
  • See Calflora for statewide observations of this plant
• Grows at elevations to 2,7600 ft.

Uses (San Mateo County Parks prohibits removal of any natural material)

• Wildlife
  • Pollen and nectar source for native bees
  • Larval food source (host) for several butterfly species, i.e. West Coast lady (Vanessa annabella), gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), and common checkered-skipper (Pyrgus communis)

Name Derivation

• Sidalcea (si-DAL-see-a) – from Sida and Alcea, names of related genera in the Mallow family
  • Both Sida and Alcea are Greek names for mallow
• diploscypha (dip-lo-SKY-fa) – from the Greek diploos, “double,” and skyplos, “cup”
• Fringed checker bloom
  • Fringed – for the tips of the petals, which are minutely fringed
  • Checker bloom – as with the name checker mallow, commonly used for plants in the genus Sidalcea, referring to the pattern of veins on the petals of some species

ID Tips

• May be confused with checker mallow (S. malviflora ssp. malviflora), also in the Mallow family

	Checker Mallow	Fringed Checker Bloom
Growth Habit	perennial	annual
Habitat	non-serpentine grasslands	serpentine grasslands
Flowers
Shape	cup-shaped, splaying in age … petals usually overlap at base	cup-shaped … petals narrow, creating 5 tiny “windows”
Color	pink to rose	pink, with white base
Bracts¹	short (≤ 0.2 in.) … leaflike and undivided	long (≤ 0.4 in.) … frilly, divided into 2-4 narrow lobes
Spacing	clusters more evenly spaced	clusters crowded
Stipules²	undivided	divided into narrow lobes
Blooming Period	early spring (grasses green)	late spring (grasses brown)

At Edgewood

• Found in serpentine grasslands
  • See iNaturalist for observations of this plant
• Flowers April – May

Specific References

Anderson, M.K. 2005. Tending the Wild. University of California, Berkeley.

Shapiro, A.M., and T.D. Manolis, 2007. Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

van Doorn, W.G., and U. van Meeteren. 2003, Aug. 1. Flower opening and closure: A review. Journal of Experimental Botany 54: 1801–1812. Oxford Academic.

General References

Calflora Database. 2014. Berkeley, California.

Calscape. 2018. California Native Plant Society.

Charters, M.L. 2015. Latin and Greek Plant Names: Meaning and Derivations.

Charters, M.L. 2017. Southern California Wildflowers: Guide to the Pronunciation of Specific, Generic and Family Names.

Corelli, T. 2004. Flowering Plants of Edgewood Natural Preserve (2nd. ed.). Monocot Press, Half Moon Bay, California.

Dave’s Garden.

Elpel, T.J. 2013. Botany in a Day: The Patterns Method of Plant Identification. HOPS Press, Pony, Montana.

Flora of North America. efloras.org.

Harris, J.G., and M.W. Harris. 2013. Plant Identification Terminology: An Illustrated Glossary. Spring Lake Publishing, Spring Lake, Utah.

Keator, G. 2009. California Plant Families. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, California.

Native American Ethnobotany DB.

Regents of the University of California. Jepson eFlora. Jepson Herbarium. University of California, Berkeley.