Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Elliott's Fanpetals - Sida elliottii   Torrey & A. Gray
Members of Malvaceae:
Members of Sida with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 6 » Order Malvales » Family Malvaceae
AuthorTorrey & A. Gray
DistributionKnown from just four sites/counties in the Piedmont, three of which are historical. Apparently known currently from one county (Iredell), where no specimen was collected. The record, from the NCNHP database, indicates a population was found on September 15, 1995. The Wake records is from a 1948 collection at NC State University.

This is a sparsely distributed species of the Southeast, ranging from southeastern VA and southern MO, south to southern FL and coastal TX.
AbundanceExtremely rare, in the Piedmont, currently known from one site (if still present). That site had "51-100" individuals, and thus it can occur in moderate numbers where found. This is a Significantly Rare species in the state.
HabitatThough it has a wide range of habitats in the Southeast, the three locations in NC are all from wetlands, along or close to river and creek banks. Two sites are along rocks at the edge of a river or creek, and the other (Iredell County) is swampy/damp ground near a fen. In SC and other states it can be found in sandy fields and sandy openings.
PhenologyBlooms from July to October, and fruits shortly after flowering.
IdentificationThis is the only native Sida species in the state, and (sadly) has been seen perhaps by only one living person! It is a sparsely to moderately branched herb, growing to about 2 feet tall, rarely to 3 feet tall. It has numerous, alternate leaves, narrowly elliptic to linear, stiff or thick, about 1.5 inches long but only 1/5-inch wide, sharply serrate to entire. The rather large flowers are solitary in leaf axils, on long pedicels. Each flower has 5 bright yellow to light yellow flowers, each obovate to spatulate and usually notched at the tip, with a spread about 1-1.5 inches across -- much larger than in the exotic Sida species in the state. The two exotics -- S. spinosa and S. rhombifolia -- both numerous in the state, have ovate or elliptic-rhombic leaves, as opposed to linear.
Taxonomic CommentsThough the species does not have a large range, it has several taxa. The one in NC is the nominate one -- S. elliottii var. elliottii.

Other Common Name(s)Coastal Plain Sida
State RankS1
Global RankG4G5
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