Cercocarpus | |
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C. ledifolius var. intricatus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Rosales |
Family: | Rosaceae |
Subfamily: | Dryadoideae |
Genus: | Cercocarpus Kunth [1] |
Species | |
Several, see text | |
Synonyms | |
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Cercocarpus, commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of at least nine species of nitrogen-fixing [2] flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow in chaparral and semidesert habitats and climates, often at high altitudes. Several are found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion.
The classification of Cercocarpus within the Rosaceae has been unclear. [3] [4] The genus has been placed in the subfamily Rosoideae, but is now placed in subfamily Dryadoideae. [5]
Members of the genus are deciduous shrubs or small trees, typically reaching heights of 3–6 m (9–18 ft) tall, but exceptionally up to 13 m (40 ft) high. C. montanus usually remains under 1 m (3 ft) high because of incessant browsing by elk and deer.
The name is derived from the Greek words κέρκος (kerkos), meaning "tail" and καρπός (karpos), meaning "fruit". It refers to the tail-like plume on the fruits. [6]
Cercocarpus comprises the following species: [7] [8] [9] [10] [11]
The status of the following species and hybrids is unresolved: [7]
Rosaceae, the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.
Penstemon, the beardtongues, is a large genus of roughly 280 species of flowering plants native mostly to the Nearctic, but with a few species also found in the North American portion of the Neotropics. It is the largest genus of flowering plants endemic to North America. As well as being the scientific name, penstemon is also widely used as a common name for all Penstemon species alongside beardtongues.
Lupinus, commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur in North Africa and the Mediterranean. They are widely cultivated, both as a food source and as ornamental plants, but are invasive to some areas.
Mahonia is a genus of approximately 70 species of evergreen shrubs and, rarely, small trees in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia, the Himalaya, North and Central America. They are closely related to the genus Berberis and botanists disagree on whether to recognize a separate Mahonia. Many botanists prefer to classify Mahonia as a part of Berberis because several species in both genera are able to hybridize, and because there are no consistent morphological differences between the two groups other than the leaf pinnation. However, recent DNA-based phylogenetic studies retain the two separate genera, by clarifying that unifoliolate-leaved Berberis s.s. is derived from within a paraphyletic group of shrubs bearing imparipinnate evergreen leaves, which are then divided into three genera: Mahonia, Alloberberis, and Moranothamnus ; a broadly-circumscribed Berberis would also be monophyletic.
Amorpha is a genus of plants in the pea family, Fabaceae. All the species are native to North America, from southern Canada, most of the United States (US), and northern Mexico. They are commonly known as false indigo. The name Amorpha means "deformed" or "without form" in Greek and was given because flowers of this genus only have one petal, unlike the usual "pea-shaped" flowers of the Faboideae subfamily. Amorpha is missing the wing and keel petals.
Physocarpus, commonly called ninebark, is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rosaceae, native to North America and northeastern Asia.
Packera is a genus of about 75 species of plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. Most species are commonly called ragworts or grounsels. Its members were previously included in the genus Senecio, but were moved to a different genus based on chromosome numbers, a variety of morphological characters, and molecular phylogenetic evidence.
Cercocarpus ledifolius is a North American species of mountain mahogany known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany. It is widespread across much of the Western United States as well as Baja California in Mexico. It can be found at elevations ranging from 600 to 3,000 m elevation, with the preferred altitude varying depending on the region. It prefers shallow, well-drained soils with a sandy or grainy consistency, and is generally found in areas which receive low annual precipitation (15–26 cm). This makes it common on low mountains and slopes, where it grows in scattered groves among other drought-resistant species such as Pinyon Pines, Junipers and Sagebrush ecosystems.
Dalea is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. Members of the genus are commonly known as prairie clover or indigo bush. Its name honors English apothecary Samuel Dale (1659–1739). They are native to the Western hemisphere, where they are distributed from Canada to Argentina. Nearly half of the known species are endemic to Mexico. Two species of Dalea have been considered for rangeland restoration.
Muhlenbergia is a genus of plants in the grass family.
Osteomeles is a genus of plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are shrubs native to eastern Asia, with compound leaves, opposite leaf arrangement, and small pome fruit. The fruits of all species in this genus are edible.
Cercocarpus betuloides is a shrub or small tree in the rose family. Its common names include mountain mahogany and birch leaf mountain mahogany The common name "mahogany" comes from the hardness and color of the wood, although the genus is not a true mahogany.
Cercocarpus montanus is a North American species of shrub or small tree in the family Rosaceae native to northern Mexico and the western United States. It is known by the common names alder-leaf mountain-mahogany, alder-leaf cercocarpus, and true mountain-mahogany. The variety argenteus is commonly known as silverleaf mountain-mahogany.
Orbexilum, commonly called leather-root, is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family (Fabaceae). They are native to North America, where they are found in the United States and Mexico, south to Chiapas.
Tridens is a genus of perennial grasses in the family Poaceae native to the Americas.
Acmispon is a genus of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae (legumes), native to North America and the west coast of Chile in South America. It includes several species of American bird's-foot trefoils and deervetches formerly contained in the globally distributed genus Lotus. The former genus Syrmatium is included in Acmispon. The Jepson eFlora accepts only Acmispon.
Garrya wrightii is a species of flowering plant in the family Garryaceae known by the common names Wright's silktassel, quinine-bush, coffee berry, bearberry, feverbush, and grayleaf dogwood.
Cercocarpus breviflorus, commonly known as desert mountain mahogany or hairy mountain mahogany, is a species of plant in the rose family, native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.
Cercocarpus fothergilloides is a Mexican plant species in the rose family. It is widely distributed in northern and eastern Mexico, from Tamaulipas and Coahuila south as far as Oaxaca.
Calyptridium is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Montiaceae.