Hibiscus denudatus

Pale face

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Pale face is a native shrub found in the southern desert regions in desert scrub of mesas, canyons, and creosote-bush scrub at elevations below 800 meters. Flowering from February to May, this plant produces white or lavender flowers with a purple base, 2 to 2.7 centimeters long, emerging singly in leaf axils. Growing 0.5 to 1 meter tall with generally tangled branches, it has a distinctively dense stellate-hairy appearance. Its ovate leaves are 1 to 3 centimeters long, finely toothed, and covered in stellate hairs, particularly dense on the undersides. The fruit is spherical, 7 to 8 millimeters long, spreading wide open at maturity and carrying small reniform seeds densely covered in silky hairs.

Habitat: Desert scrub of mesas, canyons, creosote-bush scrub

Bloom period: Feb-May

Elevation: < 800 m

Bioregions: DSon

California counties: Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Imperial

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.