''Sidalcea cusickii'', or Cusick's checkerbloom, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in the United States.''Sidalcea cusickii''.
Flora of North America, Vol. 6. This species is a perennial herb reaching 1.8 meters in maximum height. It grows from a thick taproot and

rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

s. It produces several purple-tinged, often hollow stems lined with toothed, palmate leaves. They bear dense, spike-shaped

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. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s of many flowers. This plant grows in moist to wet areas with fertile soils, such as mountain meadows. It may be associated with rushes and camas.

References

External links

''Sidalcea cusickii''.
NatureServe.
CalPhotos.
cusickii Flora of Oregon {{Malveae-stub Endemic flora of Oregon Endemic flora of the United States