Birch-leaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus montanus glaber
(Cercocarpus betuloides)
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RANGE: Where
the Upland Sonoran Desert of Arizona meets the Interior Chaparral. Mostly above
1200 m elevation. Mountain mahogany can also be found at higher altitudes
in pinyon-juniper and even marginal ponderosa pine habitats.
LEAVES: Tough, leathery leaves are orbicular or wedge-shaped with the
margin of the distal half finely toothed.
FRUIT: An elongated nut-like achene is tipped with a conspicuous
feathery plume several centimeters in length.
SHRUB: A medium to large shrub in Arizona. The shrubs can regrow
after a fire because the underground root-crowns generally survive. Thus the
presence of mountain mahogany may perpetuate a fire cycle typical of chaparral
habitat.
FLOWERS: Yellowish-cream flowers are quite fragrant appear early spring.
The individual petals are not clearly distinct and are borne upon a tubular
hypanthium.
UNARMED: The twigs are stiff but lack thorns.