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fremon's bushmallow, Fremont's bush mallow, Frémont's bushmallow

foothill bush mallow, horehound bushmallow, pink-flower bushmallow

Habit Subshrubs or shrubs, 0.5–2(–3) m, branches stout or slender, indument white, sparsely to densely woolly, stellate hairs stalked, 20–30-armed, glandular hairs often abundant. Subshrubs, 1–2 m, branches slender, indument tawny, moderately dense, often viscid, not shaggy, stellate hairs sessile or stalked, not bristly, few–many-armed, glandular hairs usually abundant.
Leaf

blades ovate, broadly ovate, suborbiculate, or reniform, 3- or 5-lobed, 4–6(–11) cm, thin or thick, surfaces: adaxial white, densely velvety-tomentose or green, sparsely hairy, basal sinus open, not overlapping.

blades broadly ovate or suborbiculate, unlobed or 3- or 5-lobed, 3–6(–8) cm, surfaces: moderately to copiously hairy, hairs grayish to tawny, 10–30-armed, basal sinus open, not overlapping.

Inflorescences

interrupted, spicate or narrow- or, rarely, open-paniculate, flower clusters sessile or pedunculate, 6–10-flowered;

involucellar bractlets subulate to filiform, 3–12(–15) × to 0.5 mm, 1/3–1 1/3 times calyx length.

usually short, interrupted, spicate to racemose, flower clusters sessile or short-pedunculate, glomerate to open, usually leafy;

involucellar bractlets filiform, 5–13 × 1 mm, mostly 2/3 to equaling calyx length.

Flowers

calyx campanulate, 5.5–13 mm, lobes usually narrowly triangular, 3–10 × 1–4 mm, ca. 2–3 times as long as wide, ± equaling to 3 times tube length, apex acute or short-acuminate, densely white-lanate;

petals pale pink, to 1.8 cm.

calyx angled or slightly winged in bud, 7–15 mm, lobes lanceolate, triangular, or ovate, 4.5–12 × 1.7–3(–4) mm, 2–3 times as long as wide, 2–3 times tube length, apex long-acuminate, densely stellate-hairy, hairs many-armed;

petals pink, to 2 cm.

Mericarps

2.5–4 mm.

2–3.2 mm.

2n

= 34.

= 34.

Malacothamnus fremontii

Malacothamnus marrubioides

Phenology Flowering Apr–Jun. Flowering Apr–Jun(–Aug).
Habitat Chaparral, lower margins of pine woodlands Chaparral, washes, hillsides
Elevation 50–2800 m (200–9200 ft) 400–1100 m (1300–3600 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
CA; Mexico (Baja California)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Malacothamnus fremontii occurs about the Central Valley in the inner Coast Ranges, Sierra Nevada, and Transverse Ranges. In the northern Coast Ranges, plants with calyx measurements in the lower range have been recognized as M. helleri or Sphaeralcea fremontii var. exfibulosa; plants with a more southerly distribution and measurements in the upper range have been called M. howellii or M. fremontii subsp. cercophorus; these forms occur elsewhere in the range of M. fremontii. In the Transverse Ranges, plants are generally less woolly (M. orbiculatus) and may intergrade with M. fasciculatus.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Malacothamnus marrubioides is reported from lower elevations of the Sierra Nevada, and is known otherwise from the Transverse Ranges of southern California and Coast Ranges of Baja California.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 6, p. 283. FNA vol. 6, p. 284.
Parent taxa Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Malacothamnus Malvaceae > subfam. Malvoideae > Malacothamnus
Sibling taxa
M. abbottii, M. aboriginum, M. clementinus, M. davidsonii, M. densiflorus, M. fasciculatus, M. jonesii, M. marrubioides, M. palmeri
M. abbottii, M. aboriginum, M. clementinus, M. davidsonii, M. densiflorus, M. fasciculatus, M. fremontii, M. jonesii, M. palmeri
Synonyms Malvastrum fremontii, M. fremontii subsp. cercophorus, M. helleri, M. howellii, M. orbiculatus, Malvastrum fremontii var. cercophorum, M. helleri, M. howellii, M. orbiculatum, Sphaeralcea fremontii, S. fremontii var. exfibulosa, S. orbiculata Malvastrum marrubioides, M. gabrielense
Name authority (Torrey ex A. Gray) Greene: Leafl. Bot Observ. Crit. 1: 208. (1906) (Durand & Hilgard) Greene: Leafl. Bot. Observ. Crit. 1: 208. (1906)
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