Eremalche exilis
White mallow
Family: Malvaceae · Type: annual · Native
White mallow is a California native annual found in the San Joaquin Valley, southern Coast Ranges, Channel Islands, San Gabriel Mountains, White and Inyo Mountains, and desert regions at elevations below 1,500 meters. Flowering from March to May, this plant produces white to pale pink-purple flowers approximately 4 to 5.5 millimeters long in leaf axils scattered along the stem. Growing with prostrate to decumbent stems less than 50 centimeters long and covered in fine stellate hairs, it has a delicate spreading habit. Its leaves are generally 1 to 2.5 centimeters wide with 3 to 5 distinctive lobes, the tips of which are either entire or have three small teeth. The fruit develops in segments of 9 to 13 parts, each approximately wedge-shaped with rounded margins.
Habitat: Desert scrub
Bloom period: Mar-May
Elevation: < 1500 m
Bioregions: SnJV, SCoRI, ChI (probably extirpated), SnGb, W&I, D
California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Los Angeles, Kern, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Mono, Santa Barbara, Mariposa, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Mendocino, Alameda, Ventura, Orange, Kings
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.