Taxon Report

Malacothamnus jonesii (Munz) Kearney var. niveus (Eastw.) K. Morse

fragrant-snow bushmallow

Print Report

Taxon Summary

Malacothamnus jonesii var. niveus, commonly known as fragrant-snow 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 225 to 1075 meters. Malacothamnus jonesii var. niveus is ranked 4.3, Plants of Limited Distribution, A Watch List; Not very threatened in California.

Classification


Scientific Name:	Malacothamnus jonesii (Munz) Kearney var. niveus (Eastw.) K. Morse
Common Name:	fragrant-snow bushmallow
Family:	Malvaceae
Element Code:	PDMAL0Q0H0
USDA Plants Symbol:
Synonyms/Other Names:

Ecology and Life History


Lifeform:	perennial deciduous shrub
Blooming Period: (Mar-Apr)May-Jun(Jul-Oct)	(Mar-Apr)May-Jun(Jul-Oct)
Elevation:	225-1075 (740-3525)
General Habitats:	Chaparral, Cismontane woodland
Microhabitat:	Burned areas
Microhabitat Details:

Conservation Status


CA Rare Plant Rank:	4.3
Global Rank:
State Rank:
State List:	None
Fed List:	None
Other Status:
CRPR Changes:	added to 4.3 on 2024-09-11

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:
Threatened by grazing, nonnative plants, development, altered flood/tidal regime, and mining. Potentially threatened by hybridization with other Malacothamnus taxa.
Taxonomy:
Formerly treated as a synonym of M. jonesii s.l. The calyces of M. jonesii var. niveus have longer stellate trichome rays, averaging greater than or equal to 0.5 mm, versus those of M. jonesii vars. jonesii and gracilis which average less than or equal to 0.4 mm. Intermediates with var. jonesii occur in west-central SLO Co. and intermediates with var. gracilis occur near the border of SLO and SBA cos.

Selected References

Proposed addition to CRPR 4.3, G4T3 / S3 (2024)

Leaflets of Western Botany 1(18): 213-220

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 22 February 2025].