''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 nitrogen (), with a strong triple covalent bond, in the air is converted into ammonia () or related nitrogenous compounds, typically in soil or aquatic systems but also in industry. At ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the rose family,

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are '' Alchemilla'' (270), '' Sorbu ...

. They are native to the western

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

, where they grow in

chaparral Chaparral ( ) is a shrubland plant community and geographical feature found primarily in the U.S. state of California, in southern Oregon, and in the northern portion of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterrane ...

and

semidesert A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-a ...

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and 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 ...

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 ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

. The classification of ''Cercocarpus'' within the Rosaceae has been unclear. The genus has been placed in the subfamily

Rosoideae The rose subfamily Rosoideae consists of more than 850 species, including many shrubs, perennial herbs, and fruit plants such as strawberries and brambles. Only a few are annual herbs. The circumscription of the Rosoideae is still not wholly ce ...

, but is now placed in subfamily

Dryadoideae The subfamily Dryadoideae consists of four genera in the family Rosaceae,. all of which contain representative species with root nodules that host the nitrogen-fixing bacterium ''Frankia''. They are subshrubs, shrubs, or small trees with a base ...

. 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 leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

shrubs 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, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...

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 browsing by

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The com ...

and

deer Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the ...

. The name is derived from the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

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 ''Cercocarpus betuloides'' is a shrub or small tree in the rose family.Flowering Plants of the Santa Monica Mountains, Nancy Dale,2nd Ed, 2000, p. 170 Its common names include mountain mahogany and birch leaf mountain mahogany The common name " ...

'' 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 ''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. Description ''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 ''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, an ...

'' 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''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2699712 Rosaceae genera