Cercocarpus montanus Raf.

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Cercocarpus montanus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cercocarpus/cercocarpus-montanus/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

Synonyms

  • C. parvifolius Hook. & Arn., in part

Glossary

apex
(pl. apices) Tip. apical At the apex.
calyx
(pl. calyces) Outer whorl of the perianth. Composed of several sepals.
entire
With an unbroken margin.
glabrous
Lacking hairs smooth. glabrescent Becoming hairless.
midrib
midveinCentral and principal vein in a leaf.
style
Generally an elongated structure arising from the ovary bearing the stigma at its tip.

References

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Credits

Article from Bean's Trees and Shrubs Hardy in the British Isles

Recommended citation
'Cercocarpus montanus' from the website Trees and Shrubs Online (treesandshrubsonline.org/articles/cercocarpus/cercocarpus-montanus/). Accessed 2024-03-28.

An evergreen shrub of sparse habit up to 10 or 12 ft high, with thick, persistent bark; branchlets downy when young, becoming glabrous later. Leaves obovate, 12 to 112 in. long, with a wedge-shaped base, and four to six pairs of prominent parallel veins, the apex coarsely toothed, the base entire; upper surface dull and clothed with silky hairs, becoming glabrous later; downy beneath, especially on the midrib and veins. Flowers produced during May, usually singly, Sometimes in twos or threes, on a slender, downy stalk 13 to 12 in. long, from buds on the previous year’s wood; each flower is about 14 in. across, consisting chiefly of a cluster of stamens; calyx grey with down. Fruit 13 in. long, 112 in. wide, about the size of an oat grain, surmounted by a slender, twisted tail (the style), 2 to 4 in. long, clothed with fine, white, silky hairs.

Native of western N. America from Oregon to Lower California. This curious shrub has no beauty of flower, but is very remarkable for its long-tailed fruits. In California, where a great crop of them is borne, they give to the branches quite an ostrich feather-like appearance. It is perfectly hardy at Kew, and bears flowers and fruits there.