Malacothamnus aboriginum
gray bushmallow, Indian Valley bush-mallow
blades ovate, broadly ovate, or round, 3- or 5-lobed, 4–7(–12) cm, thin or thick, surfaces: sparsely to densely grayish- to tawny-short-stellate-hairy, basal sinus open, not overlapping.
interrupted, spicate or racemose, flower clusters sessile or subsessile, subtended by conspicuous bracts, usually densely flowered, usually 10 flowers per node;
involucellar bractlets distinct or basally connate, subcordate, narrow-elliptic, or ± round, 6–15 × (1–)3–9 mm, 2/3 to exceeding calyx length.
calyx strongly plicate, angled or winged in bud, 8–17 mm, lobes subcordate, ovate, or ± round, 5–11 × 3.5–10 mm, slightly longer than broad, ca. 2 times tube length, apex abruptly acuminate, stellate-hairy, hairs many-armed;
petals pale pink to rose, 1–2 cm.
2.5–3.5 mm.
= 34.
Malacothamnus aboriginum
Malacothamnus aboriginum occurs principally in the central inner Coast Ranges and in the Laguna Mountains in San Diego County. There, plants have involucellar bractlets about 1 mm wide but otherwise appear to be M. aboriginum; these have sometimes been assigned to M. densiflorus. The character of the often connate, wide involucellar bractlets is distinctive of M. aboriginum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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