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Malacothamnus

{{Short description|Genus of shrubs}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Malacothamnus fasciculatus 2.jpg

|image_caption = Malacothamnus nuttallii

|display_parents = 2

|taxon = Malacothamnus

|authority = Greene

}}

Malacothamnus (bushmallow) is a genus of shrubs found throughout much of mainland California and on three of the Channel Islands. Outside of California, Malacothamnus is known from the northern half of Baja California and from a few disjunct locations in Arizona and Nevada. Plants of this genus are most commonly found in early-successional, post-burn plant communities.Kearney, T. H. 1951. “The Genus Malacothamnus, Greene (Malvaceae).” Leaflets of Western Botany VI (6):113–40. Malacothamnus are currently thought to be most closely related to the Iliamnas of the US interior and the Phymosias of Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Taxonomy

Taxonomy in the genus Malacothamnus has been controversial due to overlapping morphological variation and differences in opinion about how to treat that variation.Kearney, T. H. 1955. “Notes on Malvaceae VII: A New Variety in Malacothamnus.” Leaflets of Western Botany VII (12):289–90. Bates, D. M. 1993. “Malacothamnus.” In The Jepson Manual: Higher Plants of California, edited by James C. Hickman, 751–754. Berkeley: University of California Press.Bates, D. M. 2015. “Malacothamnus.” In Flora of North America North of Mexico, edited by Flora of North America Editorial Committee, 6:280–85. New York and Oxford. Slotta, T. 2004. “Phylogenetics of the Malacothamnus Alliance (Malvaceae): Assessing the Role of Hybridization and Molecular and Morphological Variation in Species Delineation.” Ph.D. dissertation, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.Slotta, T. 2012. Malacothamnus. In B. Baldwin, D. Goldman, D. Keil, R. Patterson, T. J. Rosatti, and D. H. Wilken [eds.], The Jepson Manual: Vascular Plants of California, 884–885. University of California Press. The controversy mostly arose from the many taxa included in the CNPS Rare Plant Ranking system that were not included in some treatments of the genus.[https://rareplants.cnps.org/Search/result/?genus=Malacothamnus "CNPS Inventory of Rare and Endangered Plants: Malacothamnus"] The most recent treatment used a combination of morphological and phylogenetic analyses to help clarify taxon boundaries and which taxa should be recognized, though some taxa still need further research. This treatment recognizes 21 species and 29 minimum-ranked taxa.Morse, K. [http://www.keiriosity.com/malacothamnus.html "Malacothamnus - The Bushmallows"]Morse, K., and T. Chester. 2019. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336194696_MALACOTHAMNUS_ENIGMATICUS_MALVACEAE_A_NEW_RARE_SPECIES_FROM_THE_DESERT_EDGE_OF_THE_PENINSULAR_RANGE_IN_SAN_DIEGO_COUNTY_CA Malacothamnus enigmaticus (Malvaceae), a new rare species from the desert edge of the Peninsular Range in San Diego County, CA.] Madroño 66: 103–119.Morse, K. 2021. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349255287_A_MORPHOLOGICAL_ASSESSMENT_OF_THE_MALACOTHAMNUS_PALMERI_COMPLEX_MALVACEAE A morphological assessment of the Malacothamnus palmeri complex (Malvaceae).] Crossosoma 44: 1–27.Morse, K. 2023. [https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23937048 Malacothamnus Volume 1: A Morphological Assessment of Taxonomic Boundaries in the Genus Malacothamnus (Malvaceae).]Morse, K. 2023. [https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23937066 Malacothamnus Volume 2: A Phylogenetic Assessment of Taxonomic Boundaries in the Genus Malacothamnus (Malvaceae).]Morse, K. 2023. [https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23937066 Malacothamnus Volume 3: A Revised Treatment of the Genus Malacothamnus (Malvaceae) Based on Morphological and Phylogenetic Evidence.]

Species included in the most recent treatment of the genus

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/specieslist.cgi?where-genus=Malacothamnus Calflora Query for Malacothamnus]
  • [https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.23937066 Identification guide to Malacothamnus with maps and photos]
  • [https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/bush-mallows-the-genus-malacothamnus iNaturalist Project: Bushmallows - The Genus Malacothamnus]
  • [https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/search_eflora.php?name=Malacothamnus Jepson eFlora treatment of Malacothamnus]
  • [http://www.keiriosity.com/malacothamnus.html Malacothamnus website of researcher Keir Morse]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q957257}}

Category:Malvaceae genera

Category:Flora of California