Malacothrix incana is an uncommon species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name dunedelion.

It is endemic to California, where it grows only in sand dunes on the beaches of the Channel Islands and isolated spots along the mainland coastline in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties.

[3] In 1841, Thomas Nuttall collected the type specimen in San Diego, probably on the dunes of the Silver Strand on Coronado Island.

[3][4] In 1843, John Torrey and Asa Gray gave the species its current combination, Malacothrix incana.

[3] It was formerly known from the Silver Strand beach in San Diego, much to the south of its current range, but it is now locally extinct there due to the loss of its habitat.