Taxon Report

Malacothamnus jonesii (Munz) Kearn. var. jonesii

Jones's bushmallow

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Malacothamnus jonesii var. jonesii, commonly known as Jones's bushmallow, is a perennial deciduous shrub in the Malvaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, and Cismontane woodland, growing at elevations from 175 to 505 meters. Malacothamnus jonesii var. jonesii is ranked 1B.2, Plants Rare, Threatened or Endangered in California and Elsewhere; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Malacothamnus jonesii (Munz) Kearn. var. jonesii
Common Name:	Jones's bushmallow
Family:	Malvaceae
Element Code:	PDMAL0Q0N1
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial deciduous shrub
Blooming Period: (Mar)Apr-May(Jun)	(Mar)Apr-May(Jun)
Elevation:	175-505 (575-1655)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Cismontane woodland
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	1B.2
Global Rank:	G4
State Rank:	S4
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	changed from 4.3 to 1B.2 on 2024-09-12 changed from 4.3 to 4.3 on 2014-07-16

Occurrence Data from the CNDDB


Total Occurrences:	0
Element Occurrence Ranks:
Excellent (A)	0
Good (B)	0
Fair (C)	0
Poor (D)	0
None (X)	0
Unknown (U)	0

Location


California Endemic: True
California Counties and Islands: Name (Code)

Quads: Name (Quad Code)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


Threat List Total:	0
EOs with Threat Listed:	Total EOs	% of EOs
	0	0 %

Notes




Threats:
Potentially threatened by nonnative plants, alteration of fire regimes, development, and hybridization with other Malacothamnus taxa.
Taxonomy:
Formerly included M. niveus. Malacothamnus niveus and M. gracilis are now treated as varieties of M. jonesii. M. jonesii var. jonesii is differentiated from vars. gracilis and niveus by the combination of calyx hair branch length (less than or equal to 0.4 mm) and spike-like inflorescences. Intergrades with M. jonesii var. niveus near Atascadero.

Selected References

CRPR List Change on 2014-07-16

Proposed change from CRPR 4.3 to 1B.2, G4T2T3 / S2S3 (2024)

Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 24(3):88 (1925)

Malacothamnus 3 (2023)

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 5 February 2025].