Plant · P-1160

Mountain Mahogany

Cercocarpus montanus

Mountain Mahogany is a slow-growing, long-lived shrub of dry rocky hillsides and mesas, named for the long feathery silver plumes that trail from its seeds and carry them off on the wind. Deer, cattle and sheep browse it heavily and its roots fix a small amount of nitrogen, but it is toxic enough that it belongs in a mixed diet rather than a sole feed. The wood is dense, hard and heavy - long valued as fuel - and the root bark yields a red-brown dye. It demands sharp drainage and full sun and will not take wet or shaded ground, though it shrugs off drought, fire and heavy cutting.