Malacothamnus palmeri
Malacothamnus
Palmer's bushmallow, Palmer's or Santa Lucia bushmallow, Santa Lucia bush mallow
bush-mallow, chaparral mallow
erect or ascending, ultimate branches strict to diffuse.
blades ovate to broadly ovate, unlobed or 3- or 5-lobed, to 7–8 cm, thin or thick, surfaces: sparsely to densely grayish- to tawny-hairy, basal sinus open, not overlapping.
stipules ± persistent, filiform to subulate;
blade ovate to round, rhombic, or reniform, unlobed or palmately 3-, 5-, or 7-lobed, base cordate to truncate or cuneate, margins usually toothed.
terminal, headlike or, sometimes, short-spicate, flower clusters sessile, densely flowered, subtended by conspicuous bracts;
stipules marginally connate, enclosing young flower clusters;
involucellar bractlets distinct, sometimes basally adnate to calyx, linear to lanceolate, 8–16(–21) × 1–3(–5) mm, 2/3 –1 1/3 times calyx length.
usually axillary, rarely terminal, flowers solitary or in clusters in dense to open heads, spikes, racemes, or panicles;
involucellar bractlets persistent, 3, distinct (basally connate in M. aboriginum).
calyx (8–)10–16(–20) mm, lobes ovate to deltate-lanceolate, 5–15 × 2.5–5.5 mm, ca. 2 times as long as wide, slightly exceeding to 4 times tube length, apex acuminate, grayish- to tawny-hairy, hairs stellate, arms to 3.5 mm and sometimes simple-glandular;
petals rose-pink or pale pink to nearly white, 1.4–2(–3) cm.
calyx not accrescent, not inflated, lobes triangular to ovate, not ribbed;
corolla exceeding calyx, campanulate to subrotate, usually rose to pale pink, pinkish mauve, or mauve, rarely white;
staminal column ± included;
filaments terminal and subterminal;
ovary 7–14-carpellate;
ovules 1 per cell;
styles 7–14-branched, (branches equal in number to carpels);
stigmas capitate.
schizocarps, erect, not inflated, disclike, subglobose-obovate in lateral view, not indurate, fragile, apically minutely stellate-hairy;
mericarps 7–14, drying tan, 1-celled, asymmetrically suborbicular to obovoid-reniform, smooth-walled, without dorsal spur, apex muticous, dehiscence loculicidal, walls falling away as 2 fragile valves.
1 per mericarp, ascending, brown or black, obovoid-reniform, usually papillate-stellate or minutely stellate-hairy or rarely glabrous.
2.5–4(–5) mm.
= 17.
= 34.
Malacothamnus palmeri
Malacothamnus
Malacothamnus palmeri occurs in the central, outer Coast Ranges; its morphology is variable. Plants from Jolon and the Carmel Valley, Monterey County, have been called var. involucratus; they are recognized by cordate leaves, sparse indument (leaves adaxially glabrate), broad bracts to 20 mm wide subtending and partially enclosing the young flower clusters, relatively broad involucellar bractlets, calyx measurements in the lower range (to 1.5 cm), and nearly white petals 1–3 cm. They intergrade with the typical form and, in plants with short-spicate inflorescences, approach M. aboriginum. Plants from near Arroyo Seco, Monterey County, with simple and glandular hairs and generally darker rose petals have been named var. lucianus; they are otherwise similar to the typical variety.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Species 11 (10 in the flora).
Most species of Malacothamnus are locally common in early burn successions of chaparral and adjacent vegetation types in California and northern Baja California. Malacothamnus foliosus (S. Watson) Kearney is the only species restricted to Mexico; it is found in northern Baja California.
Major morphological variants in Malacothamnus have been recognized as species, as treated by T. H. Kearney (1951). Insofar as known, most taxa are interfertile and in some instances intergrade in areas of proximity. Interpopulational variation within most species in indument and inflorescence characters is high and of moderately complex patterning.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Involucellar bractlets 1–9 mm wide | → 2 |
1. Involucellar bractlets 0.2–0.8(–1) mm wide | → 4 |
2. Inflorescences open-paniculate, flowers solitary or in loose clusters, not subtended by conspicuous bracts; indument white and dense (hairs simple, fine), sometimes sublepidote (hairs stellate, sessile). | M. abbottii |
2. Inflorescences spicate, racemose, or headlike, flower clusters glomerate, subtended by conspicuous bracts; indument grayish, tawny, or white, dense to sparse, hairs stellate, sessile or stalked, sometimes mixed with glandular and/or armed hairs | → 3 |
3. Flower clusters in elongate, spicate or racemose inflorescences, involucellar bractlets distinct or basally connate. | M. aboriginum |
3. Flower clusters in headlike or spicate inflorescences, involucellar bractlets distinct. | M. palmeri |
4. Calyx lobes: length 1–1.5 times width, 1(–2) times tube, triangular to ovate, apex acute or acuminate to short-mucronate; involucellar bractlets 1/2–2/3 times calyx | → 5 |
5. Calyces sparsely bristly- or stellate-hairy, stellate hairs overlain by 1–few-armed, arms to 3 mm; flower clusters sessile, glomerate, inflorescences interrupted, spicate. | M. densiflorus |
5. Calyces sparsely hairy to densely stellate-hairy, if sparsely, not bristly, hairs usually 10–30-armed, arms 0.2–1.5 mm; flower clusters sessile or pedunculate, glomerate or loose, inflorescences non-interrupted, cymose, spicate, racemose, or open-paniculate | → 6 |
6. Leaf blades 2–6(–11) cm, usually thin, surfaces: adaxial usually gray-green and sparsely hairy, basal lobes not overlapping; branches usually slender. | M. fasciculatus |
6. Leaf blades 5–11(–20) cm, thick, surfaces: adaxial tawny and densely stellate-hairy, basal lobes usually overlapping; branches usually stout. | M. davidsonii |
7. Calyces not angled and/or winged in bud, lobes usually triangular or deltate-lanceolate, apex long-acute to ± acuminate; indument densely lanate, white-lanate, or villous, or sublepidote to tomentose | → 9 |
8. Flower clusters usually glomerate; inflorescences not basally leafy, interrupted, spicate; calyx indument sparse, hairs usually 1–2–few-armed, bristly. | M. densiflorus |
8. Flower clusters glomerate to open; inflorescences usually basally leafy, interrupted or not, spicate or racemose; calyx indument dense, stellate-hairy, not bristly. | M. marrubioides |
9. Petals white, fading lavender; leaf blades 3- or 5-lobed, surfaces: adaxial glabrate, dark green. | M. clementinus |
9. Petals pale pink to deep mauve; leaf blades unlobed or 3- or 5-lobed, surfaces: adaxial soft tomentose-white, pale ash green and velvety white or sparsely hairy and green | → 10 |
10. Inflorescences interrupted and spicate or narrow-paniculate to open-paniculate, flower clusters dense or loose, 6–10-flowered; branches stout or slender, not flexuous; leaf blades ovate, broadly ovate, suborbiculate, or reniform, 4–6(–11) cm. | M. fremontii |
10. Inflorescences usually open-paniculate or subracemose, flower clusters loose, 3(–6)-flowered, sometimes flowers solitary; branches slender, flexuous; leaf blades ovate, ± rhombic, or suborbiculate, 2.5–4.5(–7) cm. | M. jonesii |
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