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Cercocarpus betuloides
Also called California Mountain Mahogany, Mountain Mahogany, Birch Leaf Mountain Mahogany
Birch leaf mountain mahogany is a native evergreen shrub or small tree from California's foothills and chaparral, grown for its drought tolerance and wildlife value. Give it full sun and very good drainage and it will thrive with little care once established.
Cercocarpus betuloides, commonly known as birch-leaf mountain mahogany or western mountain mahogany, is a species of flowering shrub or small tree in the rose family (Rosaceae). It is native to California and Baja California. It is one of at least nine species in the broader mountain mahogany genus, Cercocarpus, characterized by their extremely hard reddish-brown wood and distinctive feathery seeds, although the genus is not a true mahogany.
The plant is native to California, Baja California, Oregon, Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico. It typically grows in summer dry areas of the foothills and mountains of California, often in chaparral.
The reddish wood of the shrub is very hard and was traditionally used by the indigenous peoples of California to make arrow tips, fishing spears, and digging sticks.
Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus · Curl-leaf mountain mahogany
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cercocarpus betuloides by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
