bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Malacothamnus fasciculatus, with the common name chaparral mallow, 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 (Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray) Greene

Distribution

The plant is native to southern California and northern Baja California, where it is a common member of the chaparral and coastal sage scrub plant communities.

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.

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 Outer South Coast Ranges, and Western Transverse Ranges.[7]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Malacothamnus fasciculatus.

• CalFlora Database: Malacothamnus fasciculatus (chaparral mallow)
• Jepson Manual Treatment of Malacothamnus fasciculatus
• USDA Plants Profile: Malacothamnus fasciculatus
• Malacothamnus fasciculatus — U.C. Photo gallery

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