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Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides

Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides) is a distinctive-looking shrub that provides visual interest in the landscape. It is known for its long, fuzzy seeds that resemble curled feathers and shine in the sun. "Cercocarpus" means fruit with a tail. The evergreen, birch-like leaves have edges that are smooth at the bottom and toothed at the top. Its small yellow flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies. Mountain Mahogany is named for its dark bark color, but this plant is actually a member of the Rose family.

This shrub has a tall, upright habit and a fast growth rate. It is often used in narrow areas and as a hedge or privacy screen. It responds well to light or heavy pruning, which may be necessary when planted in small spaces. It can also be cut down to the ground for new growth. It's a low-water plant and adapts to a variety of soil types. Mountain Mahogany is notable for its extensive root system and is often used for restoration and bank stabilization.

Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides var. betuloides

Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides var. betuloides) is a native tree or shrub that grows in northern, southern and central California. It tends to grow at elevations from 0-8200 feet.

Island Mountain-mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides var. blancheae

This Mountain Mahogany is similar to Cercocarpus betuloides, but the leaves are larger and it is more garden tolerant. A bush-tree that looks like a compact evergreen birch. Because of its narrow habit it is an excellent screen or large border shrub. These plants have survived hot and cold for nine years here with no water and no care.

Few Flowered Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus betuloides var. macrourus

Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus ledifolius

Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) is a large, densely-branching shrub or tree. Its leathery, sticky, dark-green leaves are up to 1 1/2 inches long and lance-shaped.The small cream flowers appear in spring in clusters of up to three. It produces a small, dry fruit.


It is very drought-adapted and hardy, which makes it great for the high desert and for slopes. It is also a good choice for a screen or background shrub. It takes full to part sun and well-draining rocky soil.


This plant is distributed across western North America, where it grows on low mountains and slopes. It has a great many medicinal uses for various Indigenous Peoples, such as the Paiute and the Shoshone.


This species is known to attain ages at least as great as 1,350 years (although the tree that yielded this age was cut down; Schultz et al. 1990). This makes it arguably the oldest known flowering plant.

Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intermontanus

Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus

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.

Cercocarpus ledifolius var. ledifolius

San Diego Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus minutiflorus

San Diego Mountain Mahogany is a beautiful native shrub that grows in Southern California, primarily in coastal Orange and San Diego counties, and in the western side of the Peninsular Range region, mostly at elevations from 0-4300 feet. It grows quickly to 8 feet, and then fairly slowly after that. Leaves are small and birch-shaped, delicate and emerald green in the winter and spring, and dark green, thick, and curled down during the dry season. Flowers are yellow. Probably its most spectacular feature are its feathery, silvery seeds produced in large quantities in late summer through early fall. The seeds light up in the sun, making the plant appear to have a silvery halo when back lit. It is nice as a hedge plant around San Diego.

It does well in full sun or part shade, and tolerates summer water up to 1x per month. It does best if planted near a seasonal creek or irrigated area. It can sprout from the stump if burned or severely cut back.

Catalina Island Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus traskiae

Cercocarpus traskiae, known by the common names Santa Catalina Island mountain-mahogany and Catalina mahogany, is a rare species of plant in the rose family. It is endemic to Catalina Island, one of the southern Channel Islands in Los Angeles County, ]]California]]. It is known from just a single population. It was rare when it was first discovered in 1897 or 1898, when about 40 to 50 plants were counted. When it was federally listed as an endangered species in 1996 there were only six mature plants remaining. It has been called "one of the rarest shrubs in the continental United States" and "one of the rarest trees in North America. " in Wild Boar Gully, an arroyo covered in coastal sage scrub on Catalina. The steep sides of the arroyo contain soils of saussurite gabbro. Cercocarpus traskiae is a large shrub or tree that grows up to 8 meters in height. The leaves have thick, leathery oval blades with serrated edges and woolly-haired undersides. The leathery, woolly texture of the leaves distinguishes it from other Cercocarpus. The inflorescence is a cluster of up to 10 flowers which do not have petals. Plants do not always flower each year. While there are sometimes many seedlings noted, the seedling survival rate and rate of recruitment are quite low. As of 2007, there are only seven adult trees capable of reproduction, all located in Wild Boar Gully, and most of these are very old. The Catalina Island mountain mahogany is threatened by ungulates such as deer, and feral goats and pigs. The goats have been removed from the island, and fencing has been placed to prevent the remaining animals from touching the plants. This rare species hybridizes with its relative, Cercocarpus betuloides, a situation that may lead to genetic swamping of the rare plant. This hybridization may be made more likely by the animals' disturbance of the habitat. Many of the seedlings and saplings growing today may be hybrids. The population of pure Cercocarpus traskiae is not increasing and the species is entirely dependent on human intervention today.

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