''Garrya ovata'', the eggleaf silktassel, Mexican silktassel, or eggleaf garrya, is a plant species native to

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 ...

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 ...

, and to central and

northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

. The plant is usually found as an

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...

species in moist forests, such as Madrean pine-oak woodlands.

Description

''Garrya ovata'' is a shrub up to tall and wide.NPIN
/ref> The leaves are thick and leathery, ovate, up to long,

tomentose Trichomes (; ) are fine outgrowths or appendages on plants, algae, lichens, and certain protists. They are of diverse structure and function. Examples are hairs, glandular hairs, scales, and papillae. A covering of any kind of hair on a plant ...

on both sides when young, at maturity

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

above but

below. Flowers are arranged in pendulous (hanging)

racemes A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoo ...

, and are green. It blooms in March through May. Fruits are dark blue, spherical, up to in diameter.

Subspecies

Three subspecies are currently recognized, regarded by some authors as separate species:The Plant List
/ref>CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City. *''Garrya ovata'' subsp. ''ovata'' *''Garrya ovata'' subsp. ''goldmanii'' — (Wooton & Standl.) Dahling *''Garrya ovata'' subsp. ''lindheimeri'' — (Torr.) Dahling Of the three, only ''Garrya ovata'' subsp. ''lindheimeri'' is found within the United States.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Garrya ovata'' (eggleaf silktassel)Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center Native Plant Information Network: ''Garrya ovata''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16570752 Garryales Flora of Mexico Flora of New Mexico Flora of Central Mexico Flora of Northeastern Mexico Flora of Chihuahua (state) Flora of Texas Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental