Malacothamnus fremontii var. fremontii

Long-haired unfurled bushmallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Long-haired unfurled bushmallow is a California native shrub found in early-recovering post-burn woody vegetation and edges of openings at elevations of 50 to 1,000 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces flowers with ashy green to light green leaves and distinctive stellate hairs. Growing up to 2 meters tall with occasional rhizomatous spreading, the shrub features densely hairy stems with multiple hair types. Its leaf blades are round to widely ovate, often cordate at the base, sometimes unlobed or with 3 to 7 rounded to acute lobes. When present, the plant's leaves are notably asymmetrical in hair density, with abaxial surfaces having 1 to 2 times more stellate hairs than the adaxial surfaces.

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

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

Elevation: 50-1000 m

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