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Cercocarpus ledifolius

Common name:	Mountain Mahogany	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Nutt. ex Torr.& A.Gray.	Botanical references:	82, 200
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - Washington to California, west to Wyoming, Arizona and New Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry gravelly arid slopes in the mountain ranges of the interior regions, 1500 - 2700 metres[82, 229].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	2

Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Curl-leaf Mountain-mahogany [B], Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany [P], Curlleaf Mountain-mahogany [DEN1,FEIS],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 8m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 6. It is in leaf all year. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 2/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil and can tolerate drought. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

Tea.

The scraped bark makes a flavourful addition to a brew of Mormon tea (Ephedra spp.)[183].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Cardiac Haemostatic Poultice Stomachic TB Tonic VD.

Mountain mahogany was employed medicinally by a number of native North American Indian tribes who used it to treat a variety of complaints[257]. It is virtually not used in modern herbalism.
The bark is antihaemorrhagic, cardiac, stomachic and tonic[257]. A decoction has been used in the treatment of coughs and colds, pneumonia, spitting up of blood, stomach aches, diarrhoea (including for children), tuberculosis and VD[257].
A poultice of the green powdered wood has been applied to sores, cuts, wounds and burns[257]. It has also been sprinkled on syphilitic sores[257].
An exudation from the plant has been dried, ground into a powder and applied to the ear to treat earaches[257].

Other Uses

Fuel Wood.

A red dye is obtained from the inner bark[257].
The wood is extremely hard and so dense that it will not float in water[229]. It is also brittle[82]. It makes an excellent fuel, giving off intense heat whilst burning for a long time[229]. It is occasionally used in the manufacture of small articles for domestic and industrial use[82].

Cultivation details

Requires a position in full sun in a perfectly draining soil[200]. Succeeds in dry soils. Tolerates maritime exposure[200].
Some forms of this species are hardy to about -17° c[200].
A slow-growing tree or large shrub, it is not a true evergreen, but its leaves persist over winter and do not fall until after the new leaves are growing[229].
Some members of this genus have a symbiotic relationship with certain soil micro-organisms, these form nodules on the roots of the plants and fix atmospheric nitrogen. Some of this nitrogen is utilized by the growing plant but some can also be used by other plants growing nearby[200].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.
Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame[200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[DEN] Data _ Photos (Good Identification info) from the Virginia Tech's Dendrology Deptarments' Tree Fact Sheets.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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