Nelson’s Checkermallow

Nelson’s checkermallow is a rare perennial wildflower native to western Oregon and southwestern Washington, with many populations occurring in the Willamette Valley. It grows in wet prairies, meadows, streamside areas, and other seasonally moist habitats, producing upright stems with clusters of pink to rose-purple, mallow-like flowers in late spring and summer. The flowers provide nectar and pollen for native bees and other insects. Nelson’s checker-mallow has declined substantially because of habitat loss, altered hydrology, invasive plants, and changes in disturbance regimes, and was federally listed as threatened in the United States.  It was removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants in 2023.