Malacothamnus jonesii var. gracilis

Huasna bushmallow, slender bushmallow

Family: Malvaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.1

Huasna bushmallow is a rare (CNPS 1B.1) California native shrub found in early-recovering post-burn woody vegetation and edges of openings at elevations of 150 to 375 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces pale pink to white flowers with petals up to approximately 2 centimeters long. Growing to 3 meters tall with stellate-hairy stems, the shrub has distinctive branches covered in fine star-shaped hairs less than 0.4 millimeters long. Its leaves are widely ovate to diamond-shaped, mostly unlobed or with subtle three-lobed edges, featuring dense stellate hairs with greater density on the leaf undersides. The plant's delicate reddish bractlets and red-tinged glandular hairs on flower buds add to its distinctive appearance.

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

Bloom period: May-Jul(Jan)

Elevation: 150-375 m

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