Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus

Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus (little-leaf mountain mahogany, narrowleaf mahogany,[2]: 3  dwarf mountain mahogany[2]: 152 ) is a variety of Cercocarpus ledifolius that is commonly known as little-leaf mountain mahogany.[3]

Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Cercocarpus
Species:
Variety:
C. l. var. intricatus
Trinomial name
Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus
Synonyms

Cercocarpus intricatus S. Watson[1]

Distribution

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Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus is native to the Southwestern United States, from California to Colorado, where it grows in mostly dry habitat such as deserts. It can be found in rocky places and slopes of mountain brush, pinyon juniper woodland, and ponderosa pine forest vegetation types.[2]: 152 

Description

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Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus is a thickly branched shrub spreading and growing erect to heights between one and three meters. The many short gray twigs on the branches bear tiny, widely spaced evergreen leaves. Each thick, short leaf is a centimeter long or less, rolled under at the edges, and leathery in texture. The inflorescence has two or three flowers. Each flower is a tiny cup merely a few millimeters wide containing several protruding stamens and one pistil. The style remains after the rest of the flower falls away. It is feathery and up to two centimeters long, with the fruit, an achene, at the tip.

Uses

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The Navajo have traditionally produced a reddish-brown vegetable dye from the deep-red bark extracted from the tap-root of the plant, which they used to dye woolen yarns.[4]

References

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  1. ^ "Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  2. ^ a b c Canyon Country Wildflowers, Damian Fagan, 2nd ed., 2012, Morris Bush Publishing, LLC. in cooperation with Canyonlands Natural History Association, ISBN 978-0-7627-7013-7
  3. ^ "Cercocarpus ledifolius var. intricatus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
  4. ^ Holmes County History, Navajo Arts and Crafts Movie 1954 on YouTube, April 2023, minutes 26:00–27:20.
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