Malacothamnus jonesii is endemic to San Luis Obispo County, California and just over its northern and southern borders in Monterey and Santa Barbara counties.

These varieties together form a single clade in phylogenetic analyses.

jonesii is known by the common name Jones’s bushmallow.

It is distinguished from the other varieties by the combination of shorter calyx hairs and a spike-like inflorescence.

It is distinguished from the other varieties by the combination of shorter calyx hairs and a panicle-like inflorescence.