Iliamna rivularis (Dougl. ex Hook.) Greene

streambank wild hollyhock
mountain hollyhock
streambank globemallow

More info for the terms: caudex, forb

Streambank wild hollyhock is a perennial forb with one to several stems arising
from a woody caudex. It reaches 24 to 80 inches (60-200 cm) in height
[10]. Flowers are on stout stalks in dense axillary or terminal
clusters [17].

Streambank wild hollyhock occurs mostly east of the Cascade Range from Alberta and
British Columbia to Oregon, east to Montana, and south to Colorado
[10,11,17].

More info for the term: fire regime

Streambank wild hollyhock is a seedbanking species that survives even severe fire
by germination of dormant, fire-activated seeds [19]. It flowers during
early postfire stages. Seeds survive in the soil and remain viable for
long periods of time [22].

FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find FIRE REGIMES".

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More info for the term: hemicryptophyte

Hemicryptophyte

More info for the term: mesic

Streambank wild hollyhock commonly grows on forested slopes, in meadows, along
streambanks, and in disturbed areas [7,10,17]. It occurs on mesic sites
in deep, moist, but well-drained soil [17]. It has been found to 11,500
feet (3,490 m) elevation in Colorado [10], and 9,570 feet (2900 m)
elevation in Utah [30].

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This species is known to occur in association with the following cover types (as classified by the Society of American Foresters):

More info for the term: cover

206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
208 Whitebark pine
210 Interior Douglas-fir
212 Western larch
213 Grand fir
217 Aspen
218 Lodgepole pine
237 Interior ponderosa pine
Probably occurs in other SAF Cover Types within its range

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This species is known to occur in the following ecosystem types (as named by the U.S. Forest Service in their Forest and Range Ecosystem [FRES] Type classification):

More info for the term: shrub

FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES21 Ponderosa pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES25 Larch
FRES26 Lodgepole pine
FRES28 Western hardwoods
FRES34 Chaparral - mountain shrub
FRES37 Mountain meadows
FRES44 Alpine

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This species is known to occur in association with the following plant community types (as classified by Küchler 1964):

More info for the term: forest

K008 Lodgepole pine - subalpine forest
K011 Western ponderosa forest
K012 Douglas-fir forest
K014 Grand fir - Douglas-fir forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K016 Eastern ponderosa forest
K017 Black Hills pine forest
K018 Pine - Douglas-fir forest
K021 Southwestern spruce - fir forest
K022 Great Basin pine forest
K037 Mountain-mahogany - oak scrub
K052 Alpine meadows and barren
Probably occurs in other Kuchler Plant Associations within its range

Streambank wild hollyhock was highly preferred by sheep and cattle in recently
burned quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) stands in Wyoming and Idaho
[6]. It was also utilized heavily by elk and mule deer in recently
burned areas of Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks [14].

More info for the term: forb

Forb

Streambank wild hollyhock may become abundant following clearcutting in grand fir
(Abies grandis) and Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) habitats in
central Idaho. It may also appear after mechanical site preparation,
but is not as well represented [22]. In Douglas-fir/pinegrass
(Calamagrostis rubescens) habitats in central Idaho, streambank wild hollyhock
showed no change following clearcutting, but declined after shelterwood
cutting and clearcuting followed by mechanical site preparation. It
increased drastically after clearcutting followed by burning and after
stand-destroying wildfires [23].

Crude protein percentage of streambank wild hollyhock in aspen stands in Idaho
ranged from 12.1 to 22.4 from July to September. In-vitro digestible dry
matter ranged from 64.9 to 84.4 percent during the same time period [4].

CO ID MT NV OR UT WA WY AB BC

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Streambank wild hollyhock flowers from June to August in the Pacific Northwest [17].

More info for the terms: cover, frequency, wildfire

Streambank wild hollyhock is a residual colonizer that is prominent in initial
postfire communities, even after severe fires [26]. It becomes
abundant following severe wildfire and hot broadcast burning,
particularly when slash has been piled [22].

Streambank wild hollyhock dominated the postfire vegetation after moderate to
severe fire in quaking aspen and quaking aspen-mixed conifer habitats in
Idaho. It formed dense stands within the first postfire growing season,
but was absent from the prefire vegetation. It continued to dominate
the site for several seasons, producing an average of 2,000 pounds per
acre (2,260 kg/ha) in postfire year 2, and 835 pounds per acre (940
kg/ha) in postfire year 3. By postfire year 4, production had further
declined, and streambank wild hollyhock foliage appeared chlorotic. It disappeared
from the site by the sixth growing season following the fire. In
postfire year 2, streambank wild hollyhock produced an average of 1,329 seeds per
square foot (14,300 seeds/sq m) [3].

In Douglas-fir habitats in central Idaho, streambank wild hollyhock was prominent
in postfire communities but was absent from prefire vegetation. It had
the following frequencies in postfire growing seasons: year 1, 52
percent; year 2, 36 percent; year 3, 52 percent; year 4, 52 percent;
year 5, 56 percent; year 6, 52 percent; and year 7, 48 percent. Wild
hollyhock had a frequency of 4 percent in an adjacent 20-year-old burn.
By postfire year 3, it dominated the site along with fireweed (Chamerion
angustifolium). Together, they comprised 40 percent of total vegetal
cover. In successive years, they made up 20 percent of total cover, but
were not as abundant after postfire year 6 [18].

In general, streambank wild hollyhock flowers profusely and becomes very abundant
for a short period following fire but is eventually replaced by other
vegetation [13,24,28]. It has shown this response after fires in grand
fir [31], ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) [21], aspen (Populus spp.)
[4], and Douglas-fir [1,5] habitats in the Northwest.

More info for the term: secondary colonizer

Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
Secondary colonizer - on-site seed

More info for the terms: density, seed

Streambank wild hollyhock reproduces by seed and is not rhizomatous [22]. Seeds
have no dispersal mechanism and are stored in the soil, remaining up to
91 percent viable for long periods of time. The majority of the seeds
(around 75 percent) are buried 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) below the soil
surface, with the remainder buried in the top 2 inches (0-5 cm). One
study reported 8 to 137 viable streambank wild hollyhock seeds per square foot
(84-1,470 seeds/sq m) in mature grand fir habitats in central Idaho.
Seeds have a smooth, hard coat and require a heat treatment for
germination. This fact, in addition to high seed density, depth of
burial, and high viability, provides for long-term survival in the
seedbank [15]. Streambank wild hollyhock seeds remain viable for at least a few
hundred years [28]. Germination takes place in full sun, most often
following fire [23].

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This species can be found in the following regions of the western United States (according to the Bureau of Land Management classification of Physiographic Regions of the western United States):

2 Cascade Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
6 Upper Basin and Range
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
9 Middle Rocky Mountains
10 Wyoming Basin
11 Southern Rocky Mountains
12 Colorado Plateau
15 Black Hills Uplift
16 Upper Missouri Basin and Broken Lands

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More info for the term: wildfire

Obligate Initial Community Species

Streambank wild hollyhock is a shade-intolerant, early seral species [15,27]. It
becomes abundant following disturbance such as clearcutting, broadcast
burning, and wildfire, and flowers profusely in full sun [22]. Wild
hollyhock is quickly eliminated from post-disturbance communities when
overtopped by other vegetation [15].

Sphaeralcea rivularis (Dougl.) Torr. [10,11,30]
Phymosia rivularis (Dougl.) Rydb. [10,11,30]
Malva rivularis Dougl. [11]

The currently accepted scientific name of streambank wild hollyhock is Iliamna
rivularis (Dougl.) Greene (Malvaceae) [10,11,30]. A typical variety with
five-lobed to seven-lobed, cordate leaves and I. r. var. diversa (Nels.)
Hitchc. with three-lobed to five-lobed, truncate leaves are recognized
[11,12].