Cercocarpus ledifolius

Common Name: curlleaf mountainmahogany Duration: Perennial Nativity: Native Lifeform: Shrub General: Evergreen shrub or small tree, 2-8 m (7-26 ft) tall; branches spreading, stiff; twigs reddish, finely pubescent. Bark reddish brown, furrowed, thick. Leaves: Alternate, simple, oblong or narrowly elliptic to nearly linear, 1-4 cm long, 0.3-1 cm wide, thick, leathery, dark green and glabrous above, paler and white tomentose beneath, the midvein thick, prominent, margins entire, rolled under, base wedge-shaped, apex acute; stipules brown, bearing a thick midvein and membranous margins; petiole 1-6 mm long. Flowers: Solitary or arranged in clusters of 2-3 in leaf axils; hypanthium trumpet-like, reddish, tomentose, the basal tube persistent in fruit; sepals 5, broadly triangular, 1.2-2.4 mm long, tomentose, recurved; petals absent. Fruits: Achene, 7-9 mm long, with a twisted, feathery, persistent style, 4-10 cm long. Ecology: Found on dry, rocky slopes, pi-on-juniper woodlands, ponderosa pine forests from 5,000-9,500 ft (1524-2896 m), flowers April-June. Distribution: Apache, Coconino, Mohave, and Navajo counties; western Canada and U.S., northern Mexico. Notes: This species is a very long-lived nitrogen fixer. Some plants in the Shoshone Range of Nevada are estimated to be over 1300 years old. It is drought tolerant and quickly colonizes from the seed bank after fire. It also exhibits a weak, post-fire sprouting ability, but severe fire will destroy the seed bank and kill individual plants. Germination is enhanced by cold stratification. This species provides browse for deer and elk, and small mammals eat the seeds. Ethnobotany: It is a desirable species for mine reclamation, and has numerous medicinal uses. Various decoctions are used for burns, earaches, diarrhea, stomachache, tuberculosis, venereal diseases, and as a blood tonic. Editor: Springer et al. 2011