Garrya ovata

Garrya ovata, with the common names eggleaf silktassel, Mexican silktassel, and eggleaf garrya, is a plant species native to New Mexico, Texas, and to central and northern Mexico.

Garrya ovata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Garryales
Family: Garryaceae
Genus: Garrya
Species:
G. ovata
Binomial name
Garrya ovata
Synonyms[1]

Fadyenia ovata (Benth.) Endl.

The plant is usually found as an understory species in moist forests, such as Madrean pine-oak woodlands.

Description

Garrya ovata is a shrub up to 6–8 feet (1.8–2.4 m) tall and wide.[2] The leaves are thick and leathery, ovate, up to 10 cm (4 in) long, tomentose on both sides when young, at maturity glabrous above but tomentose below.[3][4][5]

Flowers are arranged in pendulous (hanging) racemes, and are green. It blooms in March through May.[2]

Fruits are dark blue, spherical, up to 8 mm (0.31 in) in diameter.[6]

Subspecies

Three subspecies are currently recognized, regarded by some authors as separate species:[1][7]

  • Garrya ovata subsp. ovata
  • Garrya ovata subsp. goldmanii — (Wooton & Standl.) Dahling
  • Garrya ovata subsp. lindheimeri — (Torr.) Dahling

Of the three, only Garrya ovata subsp. lindheimeri' is found within the United States.

See also
  • Sierra Madre Occidental pine-oak forests
  • Sierra Madre Oriental pine-oak forests
  • Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt pine-oak forests

References
  1. The Plant List
  2. NPIN
  3. Bentham, George. 1839. Plantas Hartwegianas imprimis Mexicanas 14.
  4. Carranza González, Eleazar. 1996. Garryaceae. Flora del Bajío y de Regiones Adyacentes 49:1-16. Instituto de Ecología.
  5. Dahling, G. V. 1978. Systematics and evolution of Garrya. Contributions from the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University. 209: 1–104.
  6. Correll, D. S. & M. C. Johnston. 1970. Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas i–xv, 1–1881. The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson.
  7. CONABIO. 2009. Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. 1. In Capital Nat. México. CONABIO, Mexico City.
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