Taxon Report

Malacothamnus fasciculatus (Nutt. ex. Torr. & A. Gray) Greene var. catalinensis (Eastw.) Kearney

Santa Catalina Island bushmallow

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. catalinensis, commonly known as Santa Catalina Island bushmallow, is a perennial deciduous shrub in the Malvaceae that is found only in California. It occurs within Chaparral, and Coastal scrub, growing at elevations from 10 to 320 meters. Malacothamnus fasciculatus var. catalinensis is ranked 4.2, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Moderately threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Malacothamnus fasciculatus (Nutt. ex. Torr. & A. Gray) Greene var. catalinensis (Eastw.) Kearney
Common Name:	Santa Catalina Island bushmallow
Family:	Malvaceae
Element Code:	PDMAL0Q062
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial deciduous shrub
Blooming Period: Apr-Jul	Apr-Jul
Elevation:	10-320 (35-1050)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Coastal scrub
Microhabitat:
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.2
Global Rank:	G4T2Q
State Rank:	S2
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	added to 4.2 on 2015-05-04

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)
Los Angeles (LAX), San Diego (SDG)
Quads: Name (Quad Code)
Dulzura (3211667), Jamul Mountains (3211668), Otay Mesa (3211658), Santa Catalina East (3311833), Santa Catalina North (3311844), Santa Catalina South (3311834), Santa Catalina West (3311845)

Threat List Data from the CNDDB


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

Notes



See Leaflets of Western Botany 1(18):215-216 (1936) for original description and 6(6):138 (1959) for taxonomic treatment.
Threats:
Threatened by fire suppression. Possibly threatened by feral herbivores.
Taxonomy:
Treated as an island-endemic in TJM 2; earlier treatments also placed it on the mainland.

Selected References

CRPR List Addition on 2015-05-04

Citation California Native Plant Society, Rare Plant Program. 2025. Rare Plant Inventory (online edition, v9.5.1). Website https://www.rareplants.cnps.org [accessed 18 November 2025].