Holodiscus is a genus of flowering plant

Flowering plant

The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...

s in the family Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

, native to the Americas

Americas

The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

, from southwestern British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and the western United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 south to Bolivia

Bolivia

Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

. The species are deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s growing to 1-5 m tall.

Species
Seven to ten species are accepted by different authors, including:

• Holodiscus australis western US (New Mexico; included in H. discolor by USDA)
• Holodiscus argenteus Mexico
• Holodiscus discolor
  Holodiscus discolor
  Holodiscus discolor, commonly known as ocean spray, creambush or ironwood, is a shrub of western North America. It is common in the Pacific Northwest where it is found in both openings and the forest understory at low to moderate elevations.-Description:Holodiscus discolor is a fast-growing...
  
  (syn. H. boursieri) coastal western North America
• Holodiscus dumosus interior western North America
• Holodiscus fissus Central America
• Holodiscus microphyllus western US (Nevada, Utah; included in H. discolor by USDA)
• Holodiscus nitida Colombia
• Holodiscus orizabae southern Mexico
• Holodiscus pernethyoides Bolivia
• Holodiscus saxicola western US (California; accepted by New York Botanical Gardens herbarium but not by USDA)

The position of the genus in the family Rosaceae has changed over the last century as more detailed studies have been carried out. It has been place in subfamily Maloideae

Maloideae

The Maloideae C.Weber are the apple subfamily, a grouping used by some taxonomists within the rose family, Rosaceae. Recent molecular phylogenetic evidence has shown that the traditional Spiraeoideae and Amygdaloideae form part of the same clade as the traditional Maloideae, and the correct name...

, but recent molecular evidence

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

 places all of (the former) subfamily Maloideae inside subfamily Spiraeoideae

Spiraeoideae

The subfamily Spiraeoideae was traditionally a subfamily of flowering plants within family Rosaceae. The taxonomy of this subfamily has changed several times in the last century as more detailed studies have been carried out...

.