| Common Name |
Birchleaf Mountain Mahogany, Alderleaf Mountain Mahogany,
Hardtack, Mountain Ironwood, Sweet Brush |
| Latin Name |
Cercocarpus montanus |
| Family / Origin |
Rosaceae / |
| Sunset zones / USDA zones |
6-24 / 8b-10 |
| Type / Form |
Shrub / Large |
| Native Habitat |
Dry slopes 3,000 to 8,000 feet in western U. S. |
| Soil |
Dry, decomposed granite, sand, clay loam low in organic
content, well drained |
| Exposure |
Full sun |
| Water |
Once per month |
| Height X Width |
Maximum 20 feet X 5 feet, usual 12 feet X 4 feet |
| Protective Mechanism |
None |
| Leaves |
Almost evergreen, oval, birch-like |
| Flowers |
White to pink fragrant flowers, attractive leaves,
inverse conical shape, gains personality with age, heat marginal |
| Bark / Roots |
Grayish brown and generally
smooth, twigs slender, reddish brown and smooth, turning gray with age;
many slender spur shoots / Extensive roots |
| Maintenance |
Little |
| Propagation |
Seeds, cuttings |
| Pests and Diseases |
None |
| Landscape uses |
Erosion control, low maintenance, background |
| Garden Suitability |
Thornless, Fragrant, Butterfly, Ethnobotanical |
| Nature Value |
Butterflies and bees use flowers, browsers eat limbs |
| Native American Uses |
Branches used to make digging sticks, awls, dice, and tools
requiring hard wood, reddish brown dye made from bark |
| Links |
|
| Images and data |
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/DENDRO/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=433 |
| Images and data |
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/mountain_mahogany.htm |
| Images and data |
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/shrub/cermon/all.html |
| Images and data |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cercocarpus_montanus |
| Images and
data |
http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/subimages.cfm?SUB=9870 |
| Images and
data |
http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-calrecnum=1878 |
| Images and
data |
http://www.biosurvey.ou.edu/shrub/cerc-mon.htm |
| Images and
data |
http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CEMO2 |
| Images and
data |
http://www.swcoloradowildflowers.com/Pink%20Enlarged%20Photo%20Pages/cercocarpus%20montanus.htm |
| Images and
data |
http://extension.usu.edu/range/Woody/birchleafmahog.htm |
| Images and
data |
http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Rosaceae/Cercocarpus_montanus.html |
| Images and
data |
http://www.nazflora.org/Cercocarpus_montanus.htm |
| Images and
data |
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/100760/ |
| Data |
http://www.pfaf.org/database/plants.php?Cercocarpus+montanus |
| Distribution |
http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CEMO2 |
| Nursery |
Oak Hills Nursery, 13874 Ranchero Road, Oak Hills, 92345,
760-947-6261 |
