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Cercocarpus, commonly known as
mountain mahogany, is a small genus of five or six species of
deciduousDeciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...
shrubA shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s or small
treeA tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s in the rose family (
RosaceaeRosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...
), native to the western
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and northern
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, where they grow in
chaparralChaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico...
and semi-desert
habitat* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s and climates, often at high altitudes. Mountain mahogany typically reaches 3 to 6 meters (9–18 feet) tall, but exceptionally, up to 13 meters (40 feet) high.
The classification of
Cercocarpus within the Rosaceae has been unclear. The genus has been placed in the subfamily
RosoideaeThe rose subfamily Rosoideae consists of more than 850 species, including many shrubs, perennial herbs, and fruit plants such as strawberries and brambles...
, but is now placed in subfamily
DryadoideaeThe Dryadoideae subfamily of the Rosaceae consists of four genera, all of which share root nodules that host the nitrogen-fixing bacterium Frankia. They are sub-shrubs, shrubs, or small trees with a base chromosome number of 9, whose fruits are either an achene or an aggregate of achenes....
.
The Alderleaf variety is prominent in the foothills of
ColoradoColorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and
UtahUtah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
but usually remains under 1 meter (3 feet) high because of incessant browsing by
elkThe Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
and
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
. This variety of mountain mahogany is generally located on the south- or west-facing slopes because it cannot thrive in the shade on the north-facing slopes. Several are found in the
California chaparral and woodlandsThe California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of lower northern, central, and southern California and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America...
ecoregionAn ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
.
Species include:
- Cercocarpus betuloides
Cercocarpus betuloides, California Mountain Mahogany, is a species in the family Rosaceae. It typically grows in dry areas in the foothills and mountains of California, often in chaparral communities, and in other parts of the Southwestern United States and Baja California.-Description:This shrub...
- Birchleaf mountain mahogany
- Cercocarpus breviflorus - Hairy mountain mahogany
- Cercocarpus intricatus
Cercocarpus intricatus is a species of flowering plant known by the common name littleleaf mountain mahogany.-Distribution:Cercocarpus intricatus is native to the Southwestern United States, from California to Colorado, where it grows in mostly dry habitat such as desert, mountain slopes, plateau,...
- Littleleaf mountain mahogany
- Cercocarpus ledifolius
Cercocarpus ledifolius is a species of mountain mahogany known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany.-Description:This is a large, densely-branching shrub or a tree which may reach 10 meters in height. Its leathery, sticky, dark green leaves are up to 4 centimeters long and lance-shaped,...
- Curlleaf mountain mahogany
- Cercocarpus montanus
Cercocarpus montanus is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rosaceae. It is known by various common names, such as mountain mahogany, true mountain-mahogany, alder-leaf mountain-mahogany, and alder-leaf cercocarpus...
- Alderleaf mountain mahogany
- Cercocarpus traskiae
Cercocarpus traskiae, known by the common names Santa Catalina Island mountain-mahogany and Catalina mahogany, is a rare species of plant in the rose family. It is endemic to the Channel Islands of California in the United States, where it is known from just a single population...
- Catalina Island Mountain mahogany
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