Cusick’s Checkermallow

Cusick’s checkermallow is a perennial herb native to moist meadows, streambanks, and open valleys of western Oregon and adjacent regions. It grows 2–4 feet tall, with branching stems, rounded to lobed basal leaves, and upright spikes of showy, delicate pink to rose-colored flowers that bloom in early to mid-summer. Like other checker-mallows, it is highly attractive to native bees, butterflies, and other pollinators, making it an ecologically valuable species in wet meadow and riparian habitats. Its showy blooms and habitat associations also make Cusick’s checkermallow an important component of restoration plantings aimed at enhancing pollinator diversity and wetland plant communities.