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Malacothamnus mendocinensis
Malacothamnus mendocinensis (Eastw.) Kearney
Mendocino Bush Mallow, Mendocino Bush-mallow
Malvaceae (Mallow Family)
Synonym(s): Malvastrum mendocinense
USDA Symbol: MAME2
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
"Plant woody below, up to 2 m. high; stems erect, rather stout, striate-angulate, very closely short-pubescent (sublepidote); leaves short-petioled, the blades up to 5 cm. long and wide, ovate to suborbicular, shallowly to rather deeply and somewhat angulately 3-5-lobed, shallowly crenate, rounded at apex, cordate (often deeply so) at base, thickish, copiously and minutely stellate-pubescent on both surfaces; inflorescences elongate, leafy at least below, narrowly paniculate, the short, loosely flowered branchlets stiffly ascending, the flowers mostly short-pedicelled; bractlets barely 1/4 as long as the calyx, subulate, thickish; calyx 5-6 mm. long, somewhat angulate in bud, densely sublepidote with extremely short, many-armed hairs, the broadly deltoid, acutish lobes equaling or somewhat shorter than the tube; petals 10-12 mm. long; carpels about 2.2 mm. high and very nearly as wide, not stalked, barely incised." (Reslit: 3180).
A very rare species.
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Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Shrub
Fruit Type: Schizocarp
Size Notes: To about two meters in height. (Reslit: 3180). Several other references describe taller plants, up to about 15 feet.
Leaf: Leaves gray-green. "Leaves short-petioled, the blades up to 5 cm. long and wide, ovate to suborbicular, shallowly to rather deeply and somewhat angulately 3-5-lobed, shallowly crenate, rounded at apex, cordate (often deeply so) at base, thickish, copiously and minutely stellate-pubescent on both surfaces." (Reslit: 3180).
Flower: Flowers pink. "Inflorescences elongate, leafy at least below, narrowly paniculate, the short, loosely flowered branchlets stiffly ascending, the flowers mostly short-pedicelled; bractlets barely 1/4 as long as the calyx, subulate, thickish; calyx 5-6 mm. long, somewhat angulate in bud, densely sublepidote with extremely short, many-armed hairs, the broadly deltoid, acutish lobes equaling or somewhat shorter than the tube; petals 10-12 mm. long". (Reslit: 3180).
Fruit: A schizocarp. "Carpels about 2.2 mm. high and very nearly as wide, not stalked, barely incised."carpels about 2.2 mm. high and very nearly as wide, not stalked, barely incised." (Reslit: 3180).
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: PinkBloom Time: Apr , May , Jun , Jul
Distribution
USA: CANative Distribution: Endemic to California. Only known population is in Mendocino County.
Native Habitat: In or near chaparral. Elevation about 700 feet, along a roadside. (Reslit: 3180).
Growing Conditions
Light Requirement: SunBenefit
Conspicuous Flowers: yesPropagation
Propagation Material: SeedsWeb Reference
Webref 30 - Calflora (2018) CalfloraWebref 37 - Calscape (2019) California Native Plant Society
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter
Research Literature
Reslit 3180 - THE GENUS MALACOTHAMNUS, GREEN (MALVACEAE) (1951) Thomas H. KearneyThis information was provided by the Florida WIldflower Foundation.
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Additional resources
USDA: Find Malacothamnus mendocinensis in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Malacothamnus mendocinensis in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Malacothamnus mendocinensis
Metadata
Record Modified: 2023-04-13Research By: Joseph A. Marcus