Cercocarpus ledifolius
Encyclopedia
Cercocarpus ledifolius is a species of mountain mahogany
known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany.
covered in luxuriant tan hairs. The flowers are arranged in inflorescence
s of up to 3. The fruit is a hairy achene
one half to just over one centimeter long. This plant is distributed across western North America where it grows on low mountains and slopes.
It had a great many medicinal uses for various Native American groups, such as the Paiute
and Shoshone
.
Greater ages have been attributed to various olive trees (Olea europaea), but no one can point to a piece of olive wood with as many as 1,350 rings. A sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) in Sri Lanka was reportedly planted in 283 BC, but that date has been contested and in any event no remaining piece of wood appears to be that old. The 1,350 year date cited here is also potentially inaccurate due to dating uncertainties detailed by the authors. Much older plants are known to exist, but as clones, not as individuals.)
Mountain-mahogany
Cercocarpus, commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of five or six species of deciduous shrubs or small trees in the rose family , native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow in chaparral and semi-desert habitats and climates, often at high altitudes...
known by the common name curl-leaf mountain mahogany.
Description
This is a large, densely-branching shrub or a tree which may reach 10 meters in height. Its leathery, sticky, dark green leaves are up to 4 centimeters long and lance-shaped, and the edges may curl under. The flower consists of a small tan tube from which protrudes a long, plumelike styleGynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
covered in luxuriant tan hairs. The flowers are arranged in inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s of up to 3. The fruit is a hairy achene
Achene
An achene is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate and indehiscent...
one half to just over one centimeter long. This plant is distributed across western North America where it grows on low mountains and slopes.
It had a great many medicinal uses for various Native American groups, such as the Paiute
Paiute
Paiute refers to three closely related groups of Native Americans — the Northern Paiute of California, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon; the Owens Valley Paiute of California and Nevada; and the Southern Paiute of Arizona, southeastern California and Nevada, and Utah.-Origin of name:The origin of...
and Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
.
Age
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. (Digression: Nearly all old plant ages are debatable because of sources of uncertainty.Greater ages have been attributed to various olive trees (Olea europaea), but no one can point to a piece of olive wood with as many as 1,350 rings. A sacred fig (Ficus religiosa) in Sri Lanka was reportedly planted in 283 BC, but that date has been contested and in any event no remaining piece of wood appears to be that old. The 1,350 year date cited here is also potentially inaccurate due to dating uncertainties detailed by the authors. Much older plants are known to exist, but as clones, not as individuals.)
External links
- Jepson Manual Treatment - Cercocarpus ledifolius
- USDA Plants Profile - Cercocarpus ledifolius
- ledifolius.pdf USDA IITF description; Cercocarpus ledifolius
- Ethnobotany
- Photo gallery
- Schultz, W., P.T. Tueller, and R.J. Tausch. 1990. Ecology of curlleaf mahogany in western and central Nevada: community and population structure. Journal of Range Management 43(1):13-20. Available: http://www.ag.unr.edu/GBEM/Publications/schultz_90_JRM_Ecology_curly_leaf_mahogany_NV_community_population_structure.pdf