Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus betuloides
Tough chaparral shrub with small wedge leaves and feathery, corkscrew-tailed seeds that shimmer in autumn light. A nitrogen-fixer for dry, rocky slopes. The leaves and twigs contain cyanogenic glycosides; historically its rock-hard wood was prized for tools and its bark for dye, not for food.
- Family
- Rosaceae
- Type
- tree
- Lifespan
- perennial
- Height
- 6–20 ft
- Spacing
- 6–15 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- March, April, May
- Bloom colors
- white, yellow
- Wildlife value
- pollinators, songbirds, larval host
- Landscape uses
- specimen, hedge or screen
- Native states
- AZ, CA, OR, TX
Related native plants
More Cercocarpus species
- Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus montanus)
- Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius)