Cercocarpus ledifolius |
Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intermontanus |
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curl-leaf mountain-mahogany, desert mountainmahogany, mountain mahogany |
birchleaf mountain-mahogany, curl-leaf mountain mahogany |
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Habit | Shrubs or trees, (5–)10–85 dm, moderately to strongly branched distally. | Shrubs or trees, 20–70(–85) dm. | ||||||||
Stems | long-shoot internodes 4–22 mm, sericeous-villous to hirsute-pilose, rarely glabrous, glabrescent; short shoots (1–)2–55 × 1–3.4 mm. |
long-shoot internodes 13–22 mm, sparsely sericeous-villous; short shoots 2–55 × 1.8–3.4 mm. |
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Leaves | persistent or ± drought-deciduous; stipules 1–3.8 mm; petiole 0.4–6 mm; blade linear, linear-lanceolate, lanceolate, lance-elliptic, or elliptic-ovate, (3–)5–48 × 1–11 mm, stiffly coriaceous, base cuneate, margins weakly to strongly revolute, entire, thickened, apex acute, apiculate-mucronate to obtuse-rounded, abaxial surface initially sericeous or villous (sometimes strongly so), sometimes glabrescent, areoles closely canescent, adaxial sericeous, hirsute, or villous, glabrescent. |
petiole (1.5–)2.5–6 mm; blade lanceolate to lance-elliptic or (when shorter) elliptic-ovate, (10–)16–30(–40) × (2.8–)5–9(–11) mm, margins revolute (leaving much of abaxial surface exposed), abaxial surface sericeous or closely villous (hairs not obscuring surface), glabrescent, adaxial sericeous or sparsely villous or hairs tightly coiled and/or 1/2 coiled, glabrescent. |
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Flowers | 1–10 per short shoot; hypanthial tubes densely to loosely sericeous, villous, or with indument of coiled ascending hairs; hypanthial cups 1.5–3 × 1.8–3.5 mm; sepals (3–)5, broadly deltate, 1–2.5 mm, acute-obtuse; stamens 10–25, anthers 0.7–1.2 mm, glabrous. |
4–10 per short shoot; hypanthial tubes strongly sericeous or villous; sepals 2–2.5 mm. |
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Achenes | 6–10.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm; fruiting pedicels 0.3–1.5(–2) mm; hypanthial tubes (2.6–)3–11 mm; pedicel/tube ratio (5–)8–18(–28)%; fruit awns 3–8.5 cm, proximal setae 1.6–3.5 mm. |
6.5–10.5 × 1.3–1.5 mm; fruit awns 5–7(–8.5) cm, proximal setae 2.2–3.5 mm. |
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Cercocarpus ledifolius |
Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intermontanus |
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Phenology | Flowering May–Jun. | |||||||||
Habitat | Rocky dry, often south- to west-facing slopes, canyons, with Artemisia tridentata, Purshia tridentata, Gambel oak, maple, juniper, pinyon, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, Douglas fir and white fir, subalpine zones, often forming pure stands | |||||||||
Elevation | (500–)1300–3300 m ((1600–)4300–10800 ft) | |||||||||
Distribution |
AZ; CA; CO; ID; MT; NM; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; nw Mexico
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AZ; CA; CO; ID; NV; OR; UT; WA; WY; Mexico (Baja California) |
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Discussion | Varieties 3 (3 in the flora). (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Variety intermontanus is sympatric with var. ledifolius in southern Idaho, southwestern to eastern Oregon, southeastern Washington, and western Wyoming, and with var. intricatus in northeastern Arizona, eastern California, Nevada, and Utah. Leaves in individual specimens of var. intermontanus vary in size, with long-shoot leaves largest and the first-formed short-shoot leaves of a season more oblong-ovate and often smaller. Heartwood is hard, very dark, and valued for specialty items. Variety intermontanus has long been known as Cercocarpus ledifolius, or var. ledifolius; its type specimen is convarietal with types of var. intercedens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
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Key |
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Source | FNA vol. 9, p. 337. | FNA vol. 9, p. 338. | ||||||||
Parent taxa | Rosaceae > subfam. Dryadoideae > tribe Dryadeae > Cercocarpus | Rosaceae > subfam. Dryadoideae > tribe Dryadeae > Cercocarpus > Cercocarpus ledifolius | ||||||||
Sibling taxa | ||||||||||
Subordinate taxa | ||||||||||
Name authority | Nuttall: in J. Torrey and A. Gray, Fl. N. Amer. 1: 427. (1840) | N. H. Holmgren: Brittonia 39: 424, figs. 1A – D. (1987) | ||||||||
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