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Show WASATCH | SPECIES OF THE MONTH MOUNTAIN TIMES Curleaf Cercocarpus . NAME Mountain Mahogany, Gercocarpus Ledifolius OTHER NAMES: Curl Leaf Mountain Mahogany, Desert Mountain Mahogany, Peatherbrush, Palo Duro (Spanish), Heavy as Stone Navajo) HEIGHT: By Pamela Mills Poulson Manager of Environmental aM | <> Education, Red Butte Garden SPREAD: 2 RANGE Mountain Mahogany Range plants throughout the Intermountain West. One plant Nuttall described was Mountain Mahogany, a slow growing hardwood with small, leathery, evergreen leaves. Although unrelated to tropical mahogany, Nuttall called the stout tree Mountain Mahogany for its dense redbrown heartwood that would not float and burned as hot as coal, reducing completely to a fine white ash. Nuttall assigned the scientific name Cercocarpus_ledifolius. Cercocarpus, (serkoh-karp’-us) is Greek for “shuttle fruit,” referring to the long tail on the fruit. Small, . yellowish flowers appear in early spring and develop plumed seeds which envelop the tree in early fall. Fall is the season when the squat Mountain Mahogany glows in the afternoon light with the golden gossamer of ten thousand glistening tassels. AND DISTRIBUTION: 5,000 to 8,000 feet: Southeastern Washington, eastward yj to the Cascades and south to the high northern Coast Ranges of California, Along the eastern and Arboretum Cy a quartzite crag of the Wasatch Mountains stands a contorted sentinel, standing strong against constant wind and intense solar radiation. It is scraggly, short and thick: only 15 feet tall. Its rugged form and boulder clasping roots show an adaptation to the rigors of a harsh environment. Preferring a habitat of no soil and scarce water, the Mountain Mahogany must be hardy, or die. Mountain Mahogany was one of the first plant species noticed and described by 19th century plant hunters. In 1834 Nathaniel J. Wyeth , a Boston adventurer and businessman heard the wild call of Oregon Territory, and funded a private expedition into the unknown. Wyeth’s first priority was to establish a trading business with fur trappers and native Americans, but he was also an amateur naturalist. He took along with him Thomas Nuttall, a botanist and John Kirk Townsend, an ornithologist, both from the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Following the Oregon Trail, they made their way to the site of the fur trappers’ tenth rendezvous on Ham's Fork of the Green River in southwestern Wyoming. The party continued into Idaho, where they founded Fort Hall Trading Post north of present day Pocatello. From late June through August Nuttall collected 5 16 30. feet 3 to 30 feet side of the Sierras. In the Rockies from tdaho and southwestern Montana, throughout Utah and Newada to the tim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona: also in the Big Horn Mountains of Wyoming and San Pedro Mountains of Baja California PREFERRED SITE: Dry, sunny. usually south facing, rocky and well drained Mahogany, land Basin forest, as National on Wheeler Park and Peak in in Great Wild Rose Cliffrose, BOOKS: CATALOGS Utah PRODUCT CULTURAL NOTES: Excellent Ormamental shrub. Slow growing. Incanspicuous flowers, but showy twisted plumes on seeds in fall. Can be pruned as:a smail tree. Plant container stock or sow seeds in fall or cold stratify for 2 months and sow in spring. SIGNAGE BESIGN IMAGING & PACKAGING Aa 1790 BONANZA DR. SUITE 217 - PARK CITY. Sa He SAAR WEMSSUR UU Canyon of National Death Valley Monument, These two National Parks also harbor some of the largest specimens, which can be up to 30 feet tall with trunk diameters of two feet. Along the Wasatch, Mountain Mahogany is not developed as a community, but is seen as scattered individuals or groves along exposed rocky ridges. A member of the Rose Family (ROSACEAE,) there are 20 species of Mountain Mahogany, found only in western North America. Three species are native to Utah, with only one species growing on the Wasatch Mountains. Other close relatives include Antelope Bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) and Cliffrose (Cowania those with a sense of adventure, there are youth and adult ecology courses on cross country skis or snowshoes. Mountain Mahogany is an important forage plant for mule deer year round, but because of its evergreen habit, it is most vital in late fall and winter. High in protein, Mountain Mahogany comprises 10 to 25 percent of a mule deer’s diet. Deer browse seeds, new twigs and leaves. Short stature and twiggy branching patterns simplify identification of browsed Mountain Mahogany. Tall Mountain Mahoganies are evenly browsed from beneath as high as a mule deer can reach—keeping them naturally pruned into small trees. Scrambling over talus and broken rocks, Mountain Mahogany grows where only a lichen might survive. It clings to desolate ledges and precipitous slopes. Silhouetted against a desert-blue sky, Mountain Mahogany endures the ages, its golden tassels tossing in the wind. PAGE - BROCHURES - DIRECT MAIL PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS- POSTERS Serviceberry, Fendlerbush, and Snowberry. he seeds themselves are about the size of a grain of wheat, small and unassuming, they are attached to a three-inch long, corkscrew-like tail. This showy tail plays a vital role in seed dispersal. As the seed drops, the plume causes it to spin to the ground, directed point downward and piercing the rock-hard soil. The plume then expands and contracts with changes in humidity. This “wagging” of the plume literally augers the seed into the ground. Mountain Globally speaking, Mahogany is considered to occupy a bushland or chaparral community. Common between 5,000 and 8,000 feet elevation in the Basin and Range Province, it can dominate the landscape as an expansive wood- SYSTEMS REPORTS slopes. ASSOCIATES: Pinyon Pine, Utah Juniper, Birchleaf Mountain IDENTITY ANNUAL Make ing and add some class Sundance Film to your life. It’s easy to Festival, a Land- do at the Park City/U of Use Planning Series, business courses, ski classes, courses for youth, music, U. Call: 645-U of U or 649-3480 for a free class schedule. English and more. For pe 5 tem Ce se ¥ a UT 84060 |