''Chamaebatia'', also known as mountain misery, is a genus of two species of aromatic evergreen
shrubs
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 ...
endemic to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. Its English common name derives from early settlers' experience with the plant's dense tangle and sticky, strong-smelling resin.
They are
actinorhizal, non-
legumes
Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consu ...
capable of
nitrogen fixation
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 ...
through symbiosis with the
actinobacterium, ''
Frankia
''Frankia'' is a genus of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that live in symbiosis with actinorhizal plants, similar to the '' Rhizobium'' bacteria found in the root nodules of legumes in the family Fabaceae. ''Frankia'' also initiate the forming of ro ...
''.
Taxonomy
Species
''Chamaebatia'' comprises the following species:
* ''
Chamaebatia australis''
(Brandegee) Abrams – Southern mountain misery
* ''
Chamaebatia foliolosa''
Benth. – Sierra mountain misery, bearclover, kit-kit-dizze
Species names with uncertain taxonomic status
The status of the following species is unresolved:
* ''Chamaebatia foliolosa''
Newb.
References
External links
USDA Plants ProfileJepson Manual Treatment
Dryadoideae
Rosaceae genera
{{Rosaceae-stub