Description

Mountain mahogany is widespread in California. At least one of the four species are found in nearly every county in the state. Cercocarpus betuloides is by far the most common. The blancheae variety has a narrow distribution from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles County but is most common on a few Channel Islands. It grows as a multi-trunk tree with smooth bark that matures from mahogany to gray. The leaves are birch-like in appearance (the meaning of betuloides) and evergreen. The leaves of the island variety are larger than the more common variety, var. betuloides. In summer the plant is covered with the long fuzzy “tails” of the seeds. One of the virtues of mountain mahogany is that it tends to grow in a columnar shape, that is, greater in height than in width. The island mountain mahogany is the tallest variety, and is a good candidate for pruning into a tree-form.