| Malacothamnus palmeri | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Subfamily: | Malvoideae |
| Genus: | Malacothamnus |
| Species: | M. palmeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Malacothamnus palmeri (S.Watson) Greene |
|
Malacothamnus palmeri is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common names Palmer's bushmallow and Santa Lucia bushmallow.
Malacothamnus palmeri is an erect shrub with a thick, branching stem reaching two meters or more in height. It is coated thinly to densely in woolly white or tan hairs. The lobed, oval leaves are no more than 8 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a headlike or elongated cluster of pale pink flowers with oval petals each up to 1.5 centimeters long.
Malacothamnus palmeri is endemic to California, where it grows in the chaparral and woodland of the Central Coast and adjacent Coast Ranges of Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties.