Flora of North America species comparison

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Dirca occidentalis

western leatherwood
Habit Shrubs to 2 m; branches turning dark brown to red brown, sericeous.
Leaves

petiole 3–6 mm, sericeous;

blade obovate to broadly ovate, 2–7 × 1–3.5 cm, base rounded, margins ciliate with 6–9 cilia per mm, apex rounded, surfaces sericeous.
Inflorescences

fasciculate, nodding, (1–)3(–6)-flowered, flowers sessile or subsessile;

bracts obovate-oblong, finely white-tan tomentose.
Pedicels

0–1 mm, glabrous.
Flowers

calyx clear yellow, distinctly (3–)4-lobed, lobes 1–3 mm, margins entire;

ovary glabrous.
Drupes

yellow-green, ovoid, 8–10 mm, glabrous.
2n

= 36.

Dirca occidentalis
Phenology Flowering winter (Nov–Mar); fruiting late spring–summer (May–Jun).
Habitat Moist slopes in woods
Elevation 50–300 m (200–1000 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Dirca occidentalis has been found in only six counties in the San Francisco Bay area. The plants prefer north- and northeast-facing slopes and appear to rely on fog for moisture. Leaves are parasitized by an unknown miner.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 6, p. 382.
Parent taxa Thymelaeaceae > Dirca
Sibling taxa
D. decipiens, D. palustris
Name authority A. Gray: Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts 8: 631. (1878)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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