Mexican Flannelbush
(Fremontodendron mexicanum )
Sterculiaceae

Photo Copyright Charles Webber California Academy of Sciences

Description: Evergreen shrub. Tall, stiff, and about 6 - 18 feet (2-6 meters) across. Branches with dense, star-shaped, interwoven, matted hairs. Yellow at first, later dark. Leaves roundish, 1 - 2 3/4 inches (2.5-7cm) across, with cordate (heart-shaped) base. Contains 5-7 main veins from base. Leaf stalk (petiole) mostly 3/4 - 1 1/2 inches (2-4cm) long. Fruit is a densely bristly-hairy , cone shaped (conical) capsule, 1 1/8 - 1 1/2 inches (3-4cm) long. Flowers are large and showy,  2 3/8 - 3 1/2 inches (6-9cm) across. Seeds are shiny.

Distribution:

Habitat: Dry canyons at about 1500 feet. Chaparral and southern oak woodlands.

Flowering Period: Blooms March - June

Similar Plants:

Status: Federal Endangered, California State Rare, California Native Plant Society List 1B