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Cercocarpus montanus

Common name:	Mountain Mahogany	Family:	Rosaceae
Author:	Raf.	Botanical references:
Synonyms:
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Western N. America - Washington to California.
Habitat:	Dry rocky bluffs or mountainsides, 1,000 - 2,700 metres in Texas[227].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	0	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	C. parvifolius[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Alder-leaf Mountain-mahogany [B], Mountain Mahogany [E], True Mountain Mahogany [P], True Mountain-mahogany [DEN2,FEIS],
Epithets:	From a Dictionary of Botanical Epithets
	montanus = of mountains
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Rosales. Rose family
Other Range Info:	From the Ethnobotany Database
	Mexico Us Us(Tewa)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen shrub growing to 4m. It is hardy to zone 5. It is in leaf all year, in flower from May to June. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It can fix Nitrogen. We rate it 0/5 for edibility and 1/5 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

Hedge, Woodland, Sunny Edge.

Edible Uses

None known

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Laxative Stomachic Tonic.

An infusion of the leaves has been used as a general strengthened to the system[257].
The roots and the bark have been used in the treatment of stomach complaints[257].
A cold infusion of the plant or leaves has been used as a laxative[257].

Other Uses

Broom Dye Fuel Hedge Wood.

Bunches of the tied stems have been used as rough brooms[257].
A red to brown dye can be obtained from the root bark[257]. The bark is often mixed with alder and wild plum root barks when making the dye[257].
Tolerant of maritime exposure and amenable to training, this species can be grown as a hedge in seaside gardens[K].
The wood is heavy, hard and brittle[82]. It makes a valuable fuel and is occasionally used in the manufacture of small articles for domestic and industrial use[82].

Cultivation details

Requires a perfectly drained soil in a sunny position[200]. Tolerant of salt spray[200]. Succeeds in a hot dry position.
This species has many sub-species. Whilst some forms are hardy to about -17° c when in a suitable soil and position, other forms are frost tender. The hardiest forms, succeeding in zone 5, are C. montanus argenteus (Rydb.)F.L.Matinn and C. montanus glaber (S.Wats.)F.L.Martin. Less hardy are C. montanus paucidentatus (S.Wats.)F.L.Martin which succeeds in zone 7, C. montanus blanchae (C.Schneid.)F.L.Martin and C. montanus minutiflorus (Abrams.)F.L.Martin are hardy in zone 8 whilst C. montanus traskiae (Eastw.)F.L.Martin. is the least hardy, to zone 9[200].
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, 212].

Propagation

Seed - sow autumn or late winter in a cold frame. Seed of the more tender forms is best sown in the late winter whilst hardier forms are best sown in the autumn. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a cold frame 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.

Suppliers

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

Web References

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.
[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A& M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[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.
[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

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[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.

[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.

[212] Craighead. J., Craighead. F. and Davis. R. A Field Guide to Rocky Mountain Wildflowers The Riverside Press 1963 ISBN 63-7093
Excellent little pocket guide to the area, covering 590 species and often giving details of their uses.

[227] Vines. R.A. Trees of North Texas University of Texas Press. 1982 ISBN 0292780206
A readable guide to the area, it contains descriptions of the plants and their habitats with quite a bit of information on plant uses.

[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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