''Cercocarpus breviflorus'', commonly known as desert mountain mahogany or hairy mountain mahogany, is a species of plant in the

rose family 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 some ...

, native to northern Mexico and the southwestern United States.

Description

''Cercocarpus breviflorus'' is an evergreen tree or large shrub growing to about tall, often with several branches springing from the base. The small leaves are oblong to oblanceolate, up to long, pubescent and entire apart from a few weak teeth near the apex. They are fasciculate, with groups of two to four leaves forming small tufts separated by lengths of bare twig. The yellowish-green tubed flowers are inconspicuous and grow from the axils of the leaves. The fruits are

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

s with twisted, hairy, elongated and persistent styles, looking like long narrow feathers.Flora of North America, ''Cercocarpus breviflorus'' A. Gray, 1853. Eastern mountain-mahogany
/ref>

Distribution and habitat

Hairy mountain mahogany occurs in mountainous parts of the southwestern United States (

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

) and northern Mexico (from

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas, is a state in Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 43 municipalities. It is located in nor ...

, south as far as

Querétaro Querétaro, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Querétaro, 18 municipalities. Its capital city is Querétaro Cit ...

), on both limestone and igneous rock.

Ecology

Hairy mountain mahogany grows at moderately high elevations, often in the company of

pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, with the single-leaf pinyon pine just reaching into southern Idaho. The trees yield edible Pine nut, nuts, which are a sta ...

(''

Pinus edulis ''Pinus edulis'', the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group native to the Southwestern United States, used for its edible pine nuts. Description The piñon pine (''Pinus edulis' ...

''), alligator juniper (''

Juniperus deppeana ''Juniperus deppeana'' (alligator juniper or checkerbark juniper) is a small to medium-sized tree reaching in height. It is native to central and northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. Description The tree reaches , rarely , in he ...

''), one-seed juniper (''

Juniperus monosperma ''Juniperus monosperma'', the New Mexico juniper or one-seed juniper, is a species of juniper native to western North America, in the United States in Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado, western Oklahoma (Panhandle), and western Texas, and in ...

''), cliff fendlerbush ('' Fendlera rupicola''), antelope bitterbrush ('' Purshia tridentata''), wavyleaf oak ('' Quercus x undulata''), and skunkbush sumac ('' Rhus trilobata'').Tesky, Julie L. 199
US Forest Service: ''Fendlera rupicola''
/ref> The branches are often heavily encrusted with

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

References

breviflorus Flora of Mexico Flora of the Southwestern United States Plants described in 1853 {{Rosaceae-stub