Checkermallow (Sidalcea species)
While there are varieties that make their homes along the coast and on each side of the Cascades, several species of checkermallow occur in the Willamette Valley. All have similar spires of whitish pink to deep pink flowers that appear in late spring and early summer. The palmate (roundish) leaves are more or less divided, deeply so on the flowering stems. Bees and butterflies enjoy the flowers. The checkermallow above, spotted in the Native Plant Garden of Hendricks Park in early June, is probably Sidalcea cusickii.
Narrowleaf Mule Ears (Wyethia angustifolia)
