Malacothamnus fasciculatus

Malacothamnus fasciculatus, with the common names chaparral mallow and Mendocino bushmallow, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family.[1] It is found in far western North America.[2]

Malacothamnus fasciculatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Malacothamnus
Species:
M. fasciculatus
Binomial name
Malacothamnus fasciculatus

Distribution

The plant is native to California and northern Baja California, where it is a common member of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities in many regions, desert chaparral in the Colorado Desert, and other habitats.

Description

Malacothamnus fasciculatus is a shrub with a slender, multibranched stem growing 1–5 metres (3.3–16.4 ft) in height. It is coated thinly to densely in white or brownish hairs.

The leaves are oval or rounded in shape, 2 to 11 centimeters long, and sometimes divided into lobes. The inflorescence is an elongated cluster of many pale pink flowers with petals under a centimeter long.

White flowering Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nuttallii.

Varieties

It is a highly variable plant which is sometimes described as a spectrum of varieties, and which is sometimes hard to differentiate from other Malacothamnus species.[1]

Varieties of the species currently named include:[3]
  • Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. catalinensis — Santa Catalina Island bush-mallow; endemic to Catalina Island, one of the Channel Islands of California.[4]
  • Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. fasciculatus.
  • Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nesioticus — Santa Cruz Island bush mallow; a rare plant endemic to Santa Cruz Island, one of the Channel Islands, on which only ~120 individual plants remain.[5] It is federally listed as an endangered species.[6]
  • Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nuttallii — endemic to California in the San Francisco Bay Area, Outer South Coast Ranges, and Western Transverse Ranges.[7]
Pink flowering form, in the Peninsular Ranges.

References
  1. ITIS Report: Malacothamnus fasciculatus" (Nutt. ex Torr. & A. Gray) Greene . accessed 1.14.2014.
  2. USDA . accessed 1.14.2014.
  3. CalFlora . accessed 1.14.2014
  4. CalFlora Database: Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. catalinensis.
  5. CalFlora Database: Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nesioticus
  6. Center for Plant Conservation
  7. CalFlora Database: Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. nuttallii.


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