Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius) are evergreen, shrubby trees that grow to form impenetrable thickets at middle elevations in the mountains. The leaves are leathery, about 1-2 inches long, and the edges are curled under. Easy flower produced one seed, and each seed is attached to a long (2-3 inch), feather-like plume.

Curl-leaf Mountain Mahogany is found primarily on gravel slopes and rocky ridges in the Upper Sonoran (Pinyon-Juniper Woodland) and Transition (Yellow Pine Forest) Life Zones, but sometimes are found in higher life zones on sunny, south-facing slopes.

Family: Rose (Rosaceae).

Other Names:

Plant Form: Shrub to small tree, forming dense, shrubby thickets.

Height: To about 25 feet, but usually less than 8 ft in the desert mountains around Las Vegas.

Trunk: To about 12-in thick, reddish-brown bark, furrowed with age.

Leaves: Long, narrow, evergreen leaves. Thick and leathery. Green above, white (densely hairy) below. The edges of the long, narrow leaves are curled under.

Flowers: Small, yellow, rose flowers. Blooms in the spring.

Seeds: Size and shape of a grain of wheat, but with a long (2-3 inch) feather-like plume.

Distribution: Western Mountains from Washington and Montana south to Mexico.

Elevation: Middle elevations in the mountains.

Habitat: Gravel slopes, rocky ridges.

Comments: For the off-trail hiker in the mountains around Las Vegas, impenetrable Mountain Mahogany thickets present one of the greatest obstacles.