Taxon Report
Malacothamnus clementinus (Munz & Jtn.) Kearn.San Clemente Island bushmallow |
 © 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
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Scientific Name: |
Malacothamnus clementinus (Munz & Jtn.) Kearn. |
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Common Name: |
San Clemente Island bushmallow |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Element Code: | PDMAL0Q030 |
| USDA Plants Symbol: | MACL |
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Synonyms/Other Names: |
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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: |
Conservation Status
| CA Rare Plant Rank: | 1B.1 |
| Global Rank: | G2G3 |
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State Rank: |
S2S3 |
| State List: | CE |
| Fed List: | FD |
| Other Status: | SB_CalBG/RSABG; SB_SBBG |
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CRPR Changes: |
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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. |
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Threats: |
| Threatened by Navy activities. |
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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 3 November 2025].