Sidalcea neomexicana

Plant: perennial herb; to 1 m tall, with scattered pubescence Leaves: long-petiolate below to short-petiolate above, orbicular in outline, crenate below to palmately dissected above INFLORESCENCE: a leafless raceme Flowers: calyx 7-8 mm long, coarsely hirsute; petals rose-pink (rarely white), 1.5-2 cm long; staminal column ca. 5 mm long, hispid Fruit: FRUITS oblate schizocarps, glabrous or nearly so; mericarps 5-9, smooth to finely reticulate; SEEDS solitary Misc: In wet mountain meadows and along waterways; 1500-2900 m (5000-9500 ft); Jun-Sep REFERENCES: Fryxell, Paul A. 1994. Malvaceae. J. Ariz. - Nev. Acad. Sci. Volume 27(2), 222-236.

Fryxell 1994, Martin and Hutchins 1980, Kearney and Peebles 1969

Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Subshrub General: Erect perennial herb to 1 m tall, stems simple to branched, with scattered pubescence. Leaves: Alternate long petiolate below to short petiolate above, orbicular in outline, crenate below to palmately dissected above with 5-7 lobes, cauline leaves 5-9 parted, each segment 3-5 lobed, blades all pubescent on both surfaces and ciliate, 2-6 cm wide. Flowers: Terminal raceme, hirsute and leafless, calyx 7-8 mm long, coarsely hirsute, petals rose pink to purplish, rarely whitish, 1-2 cm long, staminal column about 5 mm long, usually pubescent. Fruits: Oblate schizocarp, glabrous or nearly so, bearing 5-9 mericarps, smooth to finely reticulate. Ecology: Found in moist soils of wet meadows and along watercourses from 5,000-9,500 ft (1524-2896 m); flowers June-September. Notes: Distinguished by its large palmately dissected leaves and terminal raceme with much larger petals than found in Sphaeralcea. Ethnobotany: Cold infusion taken for internal injury. Etymology: Sidalcea is a combination of Sida and Alcea, both Greek names for mallow and now genera the mallow family, while neomexicana means of or from New Mexico. Synonyms: None Editor: SBuckley, 2010