''Malacothamnus abbottii'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the

mallow family Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar o ...

known by the common name Abbott's bushmallow. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Monterey County, California, where it has recently been observed at only a few locations. It was historically known from a single specimen collection and the plant was presumed

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

until it was rediscovered in 1990 near

San Ardo San Ardo, formerly known as San Bernardo ( Spanish for "St. Bernard"), is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Monterey County, California, United States. San Ardo is located southeast of King City at an elevation of ...

in the Salinas River drainage.Elkhorn Slough Local Plant Profile: Malacothamnus abbottii
/ref> It is now known from eleven occurrences, many of which are actually part of a single population, growing in vulnerable riverbeds near

oil fields A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presence ...

.Malacothamnus abbottii California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
/ref> Its habitat is periodically flooding riparian scrub among sandbar willows (''Salix exigua''). This is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

with a slender, branching stem growing erect to a maximum height over one meter. It is coated in thin white hairs and bears toothed oval leaves a few centimeters long, sometimes divided into lobes. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a cluster of a few pale pink flowers with pointed oval petals 6 or 7 millimeters long.

References

External links

Identification guide to ''Malacothamnus'' with maps and photosCalphotos image gallery for ''Malacothamnus abbottii''
abbottii Endemic flora of California Natural history of Monterey County, California Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Salinas River (California) Salinas Valley Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Malveae-stub