Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany
Cercocarpus montanus
A tough foothill shrub with small wedge-shaped leaves and feathery, spiraling seed plumes that shimmer in autumn. A nitrogen-fixer and important browse 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
- 8–12 ft
- Spacing
- 4–8 ft apart
- Light
- sun
- Soil moisture
- dry, moist
- Soil pH
- acidic, neutral, alkaline
- Bloom
- April, May
- Bloom colors
- white
- Wildlife value
- butterflies
- Landscape uses
- border, naturalizing
- Native states
- AZ, CA, CO, ID, KS, MT, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX, UT, WY
Related native plants
More Cercocarpus species
- Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides)
- Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius)