''Malacothamnus enigmaticus'' is a 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 enigmatic bush-mallow. 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 the

Peninsular Ranges The Peninsular Ranges (also called the Lower California province) are a group of mountain ranges that stretch from Southern California to the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula; they are part of the North American Coast Ranges, which ...

of California and Baja California, Mexico extending from the

San Ysidro Mountains The San Ysidro Mountains are a mountain range in southern San Diego County, California and Baja California, Mexico. The mountains are a rugged coastal foothill range of the Peninsular Ranges system. Major peaks include the highest summit of the r ...

in the north to the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in the south. It was first collected in 1938 and described as a new species to science in 2019. Prior to 2019, it had been mistakenly assigned to ''

Malacothamnus aboriginum ''Malacothamnus aboriginum'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family known by the common name Indian Valley bushmallow. It is endemic to the southern Coastal Ranges of California, primarily in the southern half of the Diablo Range an ...

'' and ''

Malacothamnus densiflorus ''Malacothamnus densiflorus'' is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family, which has two varieties. It is endemic to the Peninsular Ranges of southwestern California and northwestern Baja California. Morse, K. 2023Malacothamnus Volume 3 ...

''.Morse, K., and T. Chester. 2019
''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. 2023
Malacothamnus Volume 3: A Revised Treatment of the Genus Malacothamnus (Malvaceae) Based on Morphological and Phylogenetic Evidence.
/ref>

References

External links

Identification guide to ''Malacothamnus'' with maps and photos''Malacothamnus enigmaticus'' Photo gallery at Calphotos
Flora of California Endemic flora of California enigmaticus Natural history of San Diego County, California Plants described in 2019 Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Malvoideae-stub