Malacothamnus densiflorus var. viscidus

Emerald unicorn bushmallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Emerald unicorn bushmallow is a California native shrub found in early-recovering post-burn woody vegetation and edges of openings at elevations of 75 to 940 meters. Flowering from April to May, this plant produces pale flowers with petals up to about 2 centimeters long, nestled in dense interrupted spikes. Growing as a spreading shrub up to 1.5 meters tall with rhizomes, it develops branches covered in stellate hairs with short branches typically 0.2 to 0.6 millimeters long. Its leaves are sometimes rancid-smelling, moderately 3 to 5-lobed with heart-shaped bases, and covered in dense stellate hairs that are more abundant on the leaf undersides. The plant's bracts are linear or awl-shaped, ranging from 3 to 15 millimeters long, which subtend its distinctive flower clusters.

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

Bloom period: (Feb)Apr-May(Jun)

Elevation: 75-940 m

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