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Home  /  Plants  /  Budburst Species  /  Cercocarpus montanus

COMMON NAME

Mountain mahogany

SCIENTIFIC NAME

Cercocarpus montanus

ALSO KNOWN AS

Alderleaf cercocarpus, Alderleaf mountain mahogany, True mountain mahogany

Plant family

Rose (Rosaceae)

Plant group

Deciduous Trees and Shrubs

An 8 to 20 ft tall shrub with tough green leaves, tiny cream-pink flowers, and fruits that are long, feathery and twisted. Grows on rocky slopes and grasslands.
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OBSERVERS
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OBSERVATIONS
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Identification hints

Mountain mahogany shrubs can be 8-20 ft tall with dark brown to grayish bark. The flowers are tiny cream-pink and sometimes lack petals. Flowers cluster in the axils of tiny spur branches. The flowers develop into fruits called achenes, which are small, brown, and hard, with a long, twisted feathery red spike. Leaves are tough green, slightly hairy, and spatula-shaped, with the widest part near the middle of the leaf. Leaves are often toothed and alternate along the stems.
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Did you know?

Mountain mahogany grows on rocky slopes, grasslands and openings in dry sites and is a wind-pollinated. It is found primarily in the Western United States. The long, feathery spike at the end of each fruit is the style from the flower that persists as the fruit develops. This feathery appendage can catch in the wind to disperse to new areas.
DISTRIBUTION IN TH U.S.
Arizona , California , Colorado , Idaho , Kansas , Montana , Nebraska , New Mexico , Nevada , Oklahoma , Oregon , South Dakota , Texas , Utah , Wyoming
HABITAT
There is no information available about this species.

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