Sidalcea covillei
Encyclopedia
Sidalcea covillei is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the mallow family
known by the common name Owens Valley checkerbloom, or Owens Valley sidalcea. It is endemic to the Owens Valley
of Inyo County, California
, where it grows on alkali flats
and in alkaline meadows and springs. While it is limited to this single valley, it is known from 44 sites there, and several populations are relatively large, with the total global population estimated at about two million individuals.
This is a perennial herb growing from one or more fleshy roots and reaching maximum heights between 20 and 60 centimeters. The stem is hairy, with rough, bristly hairs near the base and finer ones higher up. The leaves have blades deeply divided into narrow linear lobes, almost divided into leaflets. The leaves are fleshy and waxy in texture. The inflorescence
is an open panicle
of several flowers each with five pinkish purple petals up to 1.5 centimeters long. The leaves and flower sepal
s are coated in tiny branching hairs.
Threats to this species include a dropping water table
, which prevents water from accumulating at the surface in the plant's alkaline-seep habitat, moving the water out of reach of the plant.
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
known by the common name Owens Valley checkerbloom, or Owens Valley sidalcea. It is endemic to the Owens Valley
Owens Valley
Owens Valley is the arid valley of the Owens River in eastern California in the United States, to the east of the Sierra Nevada and west of the White Mountains and Inyo Mountains on the west edge of the Great Basin section...
of Inyo County, California
Inyo County, California
-National protected areas:* Death Valley National Park * Inyo National Forest * Manzanar National Historic Site-Major highways:* U.S. Route 6* U.S. Route 395* State Route 127* State Route 136* State Route 168* State Route 178...
, where it grows on alkali flats
Dry lake
Dry lakes are ephemeral lakebeds, or a remnant of an endorheic lake. Such flats consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts. Dry lakes are also referred to as alkali flats, sabkhas, playas or mud flats...
and in alkaline meadows and springs. While it is limited to this single valley, it is known from 44 sites there, and several populations are relatively large, with the total global population estimated at about two million individuals.
This is a perennial herb growing from one or more fleshy roots and reaching maximum heights between 20 and 60 centimeters. The stem is hairy, with rough, bristly hairs near the base and finer ones higher up. The leaves have blades deeply divided into narrow linear lobes, almost divided into leaflets. The leaves are fleshy and waxy in texture. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is an open panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of several flowers each with five pinkish purple petals up to 1.5 centimeters long. The leaves and flower sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s are coated in tiny branching hairs.
Threats to this species include a dropping water table
Water table
The water table is the level at which the submarine pressure is far from atmospheric pressure. It may be conveniently visualized as the 'surface' of the subsurface materials that are saturated with groundwater in a given vicinity. However, saturated conditions may extend above the water table as...
, which prevents water from accumulating at the surface in the plant's alkaline-seep habitat, moving the water out of reach of the plant.