''Cercocarpus'', commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of at least nine species of
nitrogen-fixing
Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen () is converted into ammonia (). It occurs both biologically and abiological nitrogen fixation, abiologically in chemical industry, chemical industries. Biological nitrogen ...
flowering plant
Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...
s in the rose family,
Rosaceae
Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera.
The name is derived from the type genus '' Rosa''. The family includes herbs, shrubs, and trees. Most species are deciduous, but som ...
. They are native to the western
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and northern
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, where they grow in
chaparral
Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant plant community, community found primarily in California, southern Oregon, and northern Baja California. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild wet winters and hot dry summers) and infrequent, high-intens ...
and
semidesert habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s and climates, often at high altitudes. Several are found in the
California chaparral and woodlands
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California (Mexico), located on the west coast of North America. It is a ...
ecoregion
An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecological and geographic area that exists on multiple different levels, defined by type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and c ...
.
The classification of ''Cercocarpus'' within the Rosaceae has been unclear. The genus has been placed in the subfamily
Rosoideae, but is now placed in subfamily
Dryadoideae.
Members of the genus are
deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
shrub
A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...
s or small
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...
s, 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 grazing by
elk and
deer
A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...
.
The name is derived from the
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
words κέρκος (''kerkos''), meaning "tail" and καρπός (''karpos''), meaning "fruit". It refers to the tail-like plume on the fruits.
Taxonomy
Species
''Cercocarpus'' comprises the following species:
* ''
Cercocarpus betuloides''
Nutt. – birch-leaf mountain mahogany
** var. ''betuloides''
Nutt.
** var. ''blancheae''
(C.K. Schneid.) Little – island mountain mahogany
** var. ''traskiae''
(Eastw.) Dunkle – Catalina Island mountain mahogany
* ''
Cercocarpus breviflorus''
A. Gray – hairy mountain mahogany
* ''
Cercocarpus douglasii''
Rydb.
* ''
Cercocarpus fothergilloides''
Kunth
** var. ''fothergilloides''
Kunth
** var. ''mojadensis''
(C.K. Schneid.) Henrickson
* ''
Cercocarpus intricatus''
S.Watson
* ''
Cercocarpus ledifolius''
Nutt. ex Torr. & A.Gray – curl-leaf mountain mahogany
* ''
Cercocarpus macrophyllus''
C.K.Schneid.
* ''
Cercocarpus mexicanus''
Henrard
* ''
Cercocarpus mojadensis''
C.K.Schneid.
* ''
Cercocarpus montanus''
Raf.
** var. ''argenteus''
(Rydb.) F.L.Martin – silver mountain mahogany
** var. ''glaber''
(S.Watson) F.L.Martin
** var. ''macrourus''
(Rydb.) F.L.Martin
** var. ''minutiflorus''
(Abrams) F.L.Martin – smooth mountain mahogany
** var. ''montanus''
Raf. – alder-leaf mountain mahogany
** var. ''paucidentatus''
(S.Watson) F.L.Martin
* ''
Cercocarpus pringlei''
(C.K.Schneid.) Rydb.
* ''
Cercocarpus rotundifolius''
Rydb.
* ''
Cercocarpus rzedowskii''
Henrard
Species names with uncertain taxonomic status
The status of the following species and hybrids is unresolved:
* ''Cercocarpus antiquus''
Lesq.
* ''Cercocarpus arizonicus''
M.E.Jones
* ''Cercocarpus betulaefolius''
C.K.Schneid.
* ''Cercocarpus betulaefolius''
Nutt. ex Hook.
* ''Cercocarpus breviflorus''
S.Watson
* ''Cercocarpus cuneatus''
Dorf
* ''Cercocarpus fothergilloides''
Torr.
* ''Cercocarpus harneyensis''
C.A.Arnold
* ''Cercocarpus macrophyllus''
C.K.Schneid.
* ''Cercocarpus miniscalchii''
(A.Massal.) Principi
* ''Cercocarpus orestesi''
Knowlt.
* ''Cercocarpus pallidus''
Wooton
* ''Cercocarpus parviflorus''
Wooton
* ''Cercocarpus parvifolius''
Nutt. ex Hook. & Arn.
* ''Cercocarpus praefoliolosa''
R.W.Br.
* ''Cercocarpus praeledifolius''
E.W.Berry
* ''Cercocarpus ravenscragensis''
E.W.Berry
* ''Cercocarpus treleasei''
C.K.Schneid.
References
External links
*
*
Jepson Manual Treatment - ''Cercocarpus''
{{Authority control
Rosaceae genera