Taxon Report

Malacothamnus clementinus (Munz & Jtn.) Kearn.

San Clemente Island bushmallow

Print Report


© 2011 Dylan Neubauer

Taxon Summary

Malacothamnus clementinus, commonly known as San Clemente Island bushmallow, is a perennial deciduous shrub in the Malvaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Valley and foothill grassland, growing at elevations from 10 to 275 meters. Malacothamnus clementinus is ranked 1B.1, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Seriously threatened in California.


  Classification

Scientific Name:
Malacothamnus clementinus (Munz & Jtn.) Kearn.
Common Name:
San Clemente Island bushmallow
Family: Malvaceae
Element Code: PDMAL0Q030
USDA Plants Symbol: MACL
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History

Lifeform: perennial deciduous shrub
Blooming Period: Mar-Aug Mar-Aug
Elevation: 10-275 (35-900)
General Habitats: Valley and foothill grassland
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB

Total Occurrences: 16
Element Occurrence Ranks:
   Excellent (A) 0
   Good (B) 2
   Fair (C) 0
   Poor (D) 0
   None (X) 0
   Unknown (U) 14
California Endemic:  True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)
Los Angeles (LAX)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
San Clemente Island Central (3211874), San Clemente Island North (3211885), San Clemente Island South (3211873)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB

Threat List Total: 3
EOs with Threat Listed: Total EOs % of EOs
2 13 %
Erosion/runoff 1 6%
Military operations 1 6%
Vandalism/dumping/litter 1 6%

Notes

Federally listed as Endangered on 1977-09-12; Delisted due to Recovery on 2023-02-24. Feral herbivores removed from SCM Isl., and vegetation recovering. See Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 51:296 (1924) for original description, and Leaflets of Western Botany 6(6):127-128 (1951) for revised nomenclature.
Threats:
Threatened by Navy activities.
Taxonomy:

Selected References

Recovery Plan for Malacothamnus clementinus (San Clemente Island bush-mallow) (USFWS 1984) 
Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 1 April 2025].