Malacothamnus aboriginum

Indian valley bushmallow, Indian Valley Bush-Mallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.2

Indian valley bushmallow is a rare (CNPS 1B.2) California native shrub found in central Sierra Nevada Foothills, San Joaquin Valley, southern San Francisco Bay Area, and South Coast Ranges in early-recovering post-burn woody vegetation at elevations of 135 to 1,200 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces pale flowers in dense, interrupted clusters with spikes of interrupted dense inflorescences. Growing to 2.5 meters tall with densely stellate-hairy stems that are occasionally spreading by rhizomes, the shrub has a distinctive hairy appearance. Its leaves are rounded to widely ovate, generally 3 to 7-lobed with cordate bases, displaying ashy to bright green surfaces covered in delicate stellate hairs. The shrub's flowers emerge with petals up to 2.5 centimeters long, creating a soft, textured appearance in its native habitats.

Habitat: Early-recovering post-burn woody vegetation, edges of openings, some plants occasionally persisting into more mature vegetation stages

Bloom period: (Mar)May-Jun(Jul)

Elevation: 135-1200 m

Bioregions: c SNF, SnJV (San Benito, Monterey, Fresno cos.), s SnFrB, SCoR.

California counties: San Benito, Fresno, San Diego, Monterey, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Kings

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