Garrya elliptica
| Garrya elliptica | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Garryales |
| Family: | Garryaceae |
| Genus: | Garrya |
| Species: | G. elliptica
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| Binomial name | |
| Garrya elliptica | |
| |
| Natural range | |
Garrya elliptica, the coast silk-tassel, silk tassel bush or wavyleaf silktassel, is a species of flowering plant in the family Garryaceae, native to the coastal ranges of California and southern Oregon. It is an erect, bushy, evergreen shrub reaching a height of 2–5 m (7–16 ft).[1]
Description
[edit]Growth habit
[edit]It has a multi-furcate branching structure yielding an almost spherical form. The height averages 3 m (9.8 ft) in the wild. Like others of its genus, G. elliptica has opposite leaves with a tough leathery feel, glossy green on top, but paler and duller on the underside.
Flowers
[edit]The dioecious flowers are concentrated in inflorescences which cascade downward as aments of 4–6 cm (1.6–2.4 in) in length.[2] While it manifests separate male and female plants, the pendant male catkins are much more showy and are grey-green and up to 30 cm (12 in) long; the female ones are shorter and silver-grey. Although the flowers bloom in late winter and early spring, dried bracts remain on the plant well into summer as light gray decorations. The plant has smooth bark, dark-greenish when young, but roughening with age. New twigs are green and moderately stout.
For pistillate flowers, above each small bract there is a solitary flower inside the inflorescence. This plant produces tiny dark seeds. The ripened purplish black fruit of about 1 cm in diameter has a hard desiccated coating, but is rather fleshy on the interior. There are a total of four stamens per flower; moreover, above each bract pair there is a triplet of flowers. The cultivar 'James Roof' has catkins up to 30 cm (12 in) in length.
Leaves
[edit]
The unique characteristics of Garrya elliptica are its waxy convex leaves with wavy leaf margins, coupled with dense individual hairs on the leaf undersides that are scarcely distinguishable with a hand lens. Its leaf blades are 6–8 cm (2.4–3.1 in) in length, and the petioles range in length from 6–12 mm. For identification purposes Congdon silk-tassel (Garrya congdonii) is most closely related. Congdon silk-tassel has the same leaf appearance, but leaf hairs are distinguishable with a hand lens, and both leaf blades and petioles are about two thirds the size of Coast silk-tassel. Both Fremont silk-tassel (Garrya fremontii) and ashy silk-tassel (Garrya flavescens) have similar fruit characteristics, but have a flat leaf margin.
Distribution and habitat
[edit]Garrya elliptica is found in several plant communities, principally in drier coastal California and southern Oregon no more than 20 miles from the Pacific Ocean; the main associations are coastal sage and chaparral ecoregion, Northern coastal scrub, Mixed evergreen coastal forest and Northern coastal sage scrub.[3] This plant can tolerate moderately heavy clay soils and serpentine areas, but likes soils pH to lie in the range of six to eight.
It is not grazed to a great degree by deer or rabbits, and is hardy to cold temperatures of about 15 °F (−9 °C). It is moderately drought tolerant, but is more luxuriant with rainfall of about 25 in (64 cm) per annum. The species is usually found at elevations above 200 m (660 ft), within the mountains of the Pacific Coast range, such as Montara Mountain, San Bruno Mountain and Napa County.
Cultivation
[edit]Garrya elliptica is appealing as an ornamental plant with a neat growing habit, and is widely used for landscape purposes.[4] It is a low-maintenance plant that thrives in a range of locations, but is typically seen growing against a wall, or as a windbreak in coastal areas.[1] The cultivar 'James Roof' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5][6]
Etymology
[edit]Garrya is named for Nicholas Garry, who was secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company [circa 1820-35]. Elliptica is derived from Greek and means 'about twice as long as broad', 'oblong with rounded ends', or 'elliptic'; this is in reference to the shape of the leaves.[7]
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VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver -
VanDusen Botanical Garden -
French National Museum of Natural History, Paris -
Male catkins -
Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle
References
[edit]- ^ a b RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ Eugene N. Kozloff and Linda H. Reidelman, Plants of the San Francisco Bay Region, Mendocino to Monterey, Sagen Press, Pacific Grove, Ca., Nov. 1994
- ^ Roxana S. Ferris, Native shrubs of the San Francisco Bay region, University of California Press, (1968) ISBN 0-520-00405-1
- ^ Alfred Pink Gardening for the Million. (2004) publisher: Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
- ^ "RHS Plantfinder - Garrya elliptica 'James Root'". Retrieved 16 February 2018.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 39. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp 152, 175
External links
[edit]
- Garryales
- Flora of California
- Flora of Oregon
- Flora of the Klamath Mountains
- Flora of the Sierra Nevada (United States)
- Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands
- Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
- Natural history of the San Francisco Bay Area
- Garden plants of North America
- Drought-tolerant plants