Cercocarpus breviflorus

A. Gray

Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. 5(6): 54. 1853.

Common names: Eastern mountain-mahogany
Synonyms: Cercocarpus breviflorus var. eximius C. K. Schneider C. eximius Rafinesque C. montanus var. paucidentatus (S. Watson) F. L. Martin C. parvifolius var. paucidentatus S. Watson
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 9. Treatment on page 335. Mentioned on page 332, 333, 334, 336.

Shrubs, (5–) 10–30 (–60) dm, sparsely to moderately branched. Stems: long-shoot internodes (3–) 7–20 (–37) mm, sericeous, pilose-hirsute or villous, glabrate; short-shoots 5–60 (–140) × 1.5–2.5 mm. Leaves persistent or drought-deciduous; stipules 1.5–2.5 (–3) mm; petiole (1–) 2–5 (-9) mm; blade narrowly oblanceolate, oblong-oblanceolate, oblongelliptic, narrowly obovate to obovate, sometimes ovate, (3–) 7–35 (–52) × (1.3–) 4–15 (–28) mm, coriaceous to subcoriaceous, base narrowly to broadly cuneate, margins serrulate to crenate in distal 1/2–1/3, teeth acute-apiculate, antrorse or proximal divergent in large leaves, or smaller blades entire, apex rounded to apiculate, abaxial surface sericeous, villous, or hirsute on veins, areoles canescent, rarely glabrous, adaxial moderately sericeous, hirsute, or villous. Flowers 1–3 (–7) per short-shoot; hypanthial tubes sericeous, hirsute-pilose to villous; hypanthial cups 1.5–2.5 × 2.5–4 mm; sepals 5, narrowly deltate, 1–2 mm, acute; stamens (15–) 20–40, anthers 0.6–1.2 mm, hirsute. Achenes 6–9 (–10.7) × 1.3–2 mm; fruiting pedicels (1–) 2–5 (–11.3) mm; hypanthial tubes (4–) 6–9 (–10.2) mm; pedicel/tube ratio (18–) 30–50 (–135) %; fruit awns (2.5–) 3.5–5 (–7.2) cm, proximal setae 1.5–2.7 mm.


Phenology: Flowering late Jun–Aug(–Sep).
Habitat: Yellow pine, fir forests, pinyon, juniper, oak woodlands, chaparral, grasslands, desert mountains, rocky, limestone, sandstone or rhyolite substrates
Elevation: 1500–2600 m

Distribution

V9 550-distribution-map.jpg

Ariz., N.Mex., Tex., Mexico (Chihuahua), Mexico (Coahuila), Mexico (Durango), Mexico (Hidalgo), Mexico (Nuevo León), Mexico (Querétaro), Mexico (San Luis Potosí), Mexico (Sonora), Mexico (Tamaulipas), Mexico (Zacatecas)

Discussion

Cercocarpus breviflorus grows in the mountains of north-central Arizona, south-central New Mexico, and central and trans-Pecos Texas and in Mexico, over a 2000 km range. It has smaller flowers and shorter fruiting pedicels, hypanthial tubes, and stipules than C. betuloides. Flowering occurs after summer rains, providing reproductive isolation from C. betuloides.

In the mountains from east-central Arizona into north-central New Mexico, about 70–80% of plants of Cercocarpus breviflorus have pilose-hirsute to villous vestiture, and leaves tend to be thinner and more obovate with five to seven teeth in the rounded apical margins. In more arid montane regions of southern New Mexico, trans-Pecos Texas, and Mexico, leaves are more commonly sericeous (70%), often smaller, more coriaceous, with fewer teeth, in extreme being entire with a single terminal tooth. In strongly arid conditions, plants are smaller, more intricately branched, and thorny. These differences appear suitable for taxonomic recognition; a broad zone of intergradation occurs in southeastern Arizona and south-central New Mexico.

In the Big Bend region and Hill County of Texas and in the Chihuahuan Desert and mountains of eastern Mexico, plants of Cercocarpus breviflorus in more mesic chaparral habitats on north-facing slopes and drainages are taller with larger, sericeous, toothed leaves, often with the proximal teeth divergent. These plants blend completely into smaller-leaved plants in more arid sites on the same mountains. As in the C. betuloides complex, there are also plants with glabrous abaxial areoles.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

"dm" is not declared as a valid unit of measurement for this property.

... more about "Cercocarpus breviflorus"
hirsute +, villous +  and sericeous +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.07 cm10.7 mm <br />0.0107 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (1.13 cm11.3 mm <br />0.0113 m <br />) +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
1.3mm +  and 2mm +
glabrous +, glabrate +, villous +, hirsute +, pilose +  and sericeous +
villous +, hirsute +  and sericeous +
0.06 cm0.6 mm <br />6.0e-4 m <br /> (0.12 cm1.2 mm <br />0.0012 m <br />) +
rounded;apiculate +
glabrous +  and canescent +
James Henrickson +  and Brian D. Vanden Heuvel +
A. Gray +
maroon-brown +, silvery +  and dark gray or brownish black +
compound +  and simple +
opposite +  and alternate +
cuneate +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (5.2 cm52 mm <br />0.052 m <br />) +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (7.8 cm78 mm <br />0.078 m <br />) +
1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (2.8 cm28 mm <br />0.028 m <br />) +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br />) +
ovate +, narrowly obovate +  and obovate +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
coriaceous +  and subcoriaceous +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (?) +  and 1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br /> (?) +
free +  and distinct +
Eastern mountain-mahogany +
hemispheric-campanulate +
Ariz. +, N.Mex. +, Tex. +, Mexico (Chihuahua) +, Mexico (Coahuila) +, Mexico (Durango) +, Mexico (Hidalgo) +, Mexico (Nuevo León) +, Mexico (Querétaro) +, Mexico (San Luis Potosí) +, Mexico (Sonora) +, Mexico (Tamaulipas) +  and Mexico (Zacatecas) +
not +  and aggregated +
1500–2600 m +
eglandular +  and veined +
hairy +  and glabrous +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (1 cm10 mm <br />0.01 m <br />) +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1.5 cm15 mm <br />0.015 m <br />) +
1 +  and 3 +
unisexual +  and bisexual +
not +  and aggregated +
5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br /> (7.2 cm72 mm <br />0.072 m <br />) +
3.5 cm35 mm <br />0.035 m <br /> (5 cm50 mm <br />0.05 m <br />) +
1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br /> (1.35 cm13.5 mm <br />0.0135 m <br />) +
cylindro-fusiform +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (1.1 cm11 mm <br />0.011 m <br />) +
chartaceous-coriaceous +
Yellow pine, fir forests, pinyon, juniper, oak woodlands, chaparral, grasslands, desert mountains, rocky, limestone, sandstone or rhyolite substrates +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br />) +
0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br /> (1.02 cm10.2 mm <br />0.0102 m <br />) +
hirsute-pilose +  and villous +
0.6 cm6 mm <br />0.006 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
cylindric +, funnelform-turbinate +, obconic +  and saucer--shaped +
cinnamon brown +, tinged reddish +  and greenish yellow +
1-3(-18)-flowered +
crassinucellate +
drought-deciduous +  and persistent +
flexuous +  and straight +
2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br /> (3.7 cm37 mm <br />0.037 m <br />) +
glabrate +, villous +, pilose-hirsute +  and sericeous +
0.7 cm7 mm <br />0.007 m <br /> (2 cm20 mm <br />0.02 m <br />) +
serrate +  and entire +
serrulate +  and crenate +
inferior +  and superior +
clustered +, biseriate +  and superposed +
0 (?) +  and 4 (?) +
free +  and distinct +
5 +  and 4 +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br /> (0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br />) +
Flowering late Jun–Aug(–Sep). +
adnate +, free +, connate +  and distinct +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.27 cm2.7 mm <br />0.0027 m <br />) +
Smithsonian Contr. Knowl. +
not arillate +
deciduous +
free +  and distinct +
erect +  and reflexed +
acute +  and deltate +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.2 cm2 mm <br />0.002 m <br />) +
not +  and branched +
6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br /> (14 cm140 mm <br />0.14 m <br />) +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (6 cm60 mm <br />0.06 m <br />) +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
free +  and distinct +
1 +  and 20 +
0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
adnate +  and free +
lanceolate;ovate +
0.15 cm1.5 mm <br />0.0015 m <br /> (0.25 cm2.5 mm <br />0.0025 m <br />) +
persistent +
distinct +
basal +, lateral +, subterminal +  and terminal +
elongate +
Cercocarpus breviflorus var. eximius +, C. eximius +, C. montanus var. paucidentatus +  and C. parvifolius var. paucidentatus +
Cercocarpus breviflorus +
Cercocarpus +
species +
inconspicuous +
hemispheric +