Text and Photos by Caroline Penn

On July 10th, 2021, I photographed a beautiful mallow flower that I found growing on a rocky area that extends out from the beach area on Southern Salt Spring Island. I was curious about what type of mallow it was and so did some searching and discovered it was a Henderson’s Checker-mallow (Sidalcea hendersonii), also known as Marsh Hollyhock. It is currently quite rare and is blue-listed. See species summary on BC Conservation Data Centre webpage.

“Sidalcea hendersonii is an interesting and showy plant found on or adjacent to tidelands from southern Vancouver Island and the Fraser River Delta, southward to the Umpqua River, Oregon. It is in bloom, like most of its family, through a lengthy season, usually from June to August end.” – Lewis J. Clark – Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest

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