Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Cercocarpus intricatus is a species of flowering plant known by the common name littleleaf mountain mahogany. It is native to the southwestern United States from California to Colorado, where it grows in mostly dry habitat such as desert, mountain slopes, plateau, and woodland. It is a thickly branched shrub spreading and growing erect to heights between one and three meters. The many short gray twigs on the branches bear tiny, widely spaced evergreen leaves. Each thick, short leaf is a centimeter long or less, rolled under at the edges, and leathery in texture. The flower cluster has two or three flowers. Each flower is a tiny cup just a few millimeters wide containing several protruding stamens and one pistil. The style remains after the rest of the flower falls away. It is feathery and up to 2 centimeters long, with the fruit, an achene, at the tip.

Plant type

Shrub

Size

3 - 10 ft Tall

Dormancy

Evergreen

Calscape icon
Color

Cream, White

Special uses

Hedge

Sun

Full Sun, Partial Shade

Water

Low, Very Low

Sunset Zones

1, 2, 3, 7*, 9, 10*, 11, 14*, 15, 16, 18*, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24

Site type

Dry, rocky outcrops, slopes,

Plant communities

Pinyon-Juniper Woodland

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 14 likely

Confirmed Likely

Bank's Emerald Moth

Chlorosea banksaria

Drepanulatrix bifilata

Mountain-mahogany Moth

Ethmia discostrigella