Curlleaf mountain-mahogany, also known as curlleaf and desert mahogany, 

 is usually a shrub from 3 to 15 feet high, but it may become a small tree, 

 occasionally becoming 40 feet in height. The specific name ledifolius refers to 

 the resemblance of the leaf to that of Labrador-tea (Ledum), a genus of the 

 heath family (Ericaceae). The leaves are rolled under (revolute) at the 

 margins which accounts for the common name, curlleaf. Curlleaf mountain- 

 mahogany is by far the commonest, most widely distributed, and best known 

 of the species of Cercocarpus which have narrow, leathery leaves, and is the 

 only species of the genus that extends as far north and west as Washington. 

 It ranges geographically from eastern Washington to California, Arizona (north 

 of the Grand Canyon), Colorado, and Montana. Its altitudinal distribution is 

 from the bunchgrass prairie through the pinon and woodland, ponderosa pine, 

 aspen, lodgepole pine, and spruce-fir belts, at elevations of between about 2,000 

 and 4,500 feet in the northern and northwestern part of its range, where it is 

 often confined to river breaks and the like, and up to 9,000 feet, or perhaps even 

 higher, in the southern part of its range. Tidestrom 1 points out that, in central 

 Nevada, this small tree often takes the place of ponderosa pine and aspen at 

 medium elevations in the mountains, sometimes forming a conspicuous transi- 

 tion type between pinon and white pine. 



In the main, curlleaf mountain-mahogany is found on warm, dry, rocky 

 ridges, and chiefly on southern or fairly dry western slopes, or, in the Pacific 

 States, on eastern slopes. 2 However, at lower elevations in the Great Basin 

 at least, it often grows in coarse soils on steep north slopes or among cliffs 

 and ledges. It sometimes occurs on clayey or loamy soils. It characteristically 

 grows in isolated patches of more or less frequent occurrence and is seldom 

 found singly or in continuous, extensive stands. These patches vary from 

 open to rather dense stands, in which curlleaf mountain-mahogany may be 

 practically the only species, or it may occur in association with such low 

 tree or shrubby species as juniper, pinon, oak, serviceberry, bitterbrush, and 

 gooseberry. 



As a rule, curlleaf mountain-mahogany has little or no palatability for do- 

 mestic livestock in the summer but is browsed to some extent by goats, sheep, 

 and cattle in the late fall, winter, and early spring. However, it usually 

 grows at elevations above that of most winter livestock ranges. The leaves 

 are not shed until the end of the second summer, so both leaves and twigs are 

 available throughout the year. It is a good winter game browse, ranking as 

 an outstanding winter forage for deer in northeastern California and for deer 

 and elk in localized areas elsewhere. Ordinarily it is grazed moderately by 

 deer and elk from late fall to early spring. In fact, these animals like to 

 yard up in protected patches of curlleaf mountain-mahogany, and such patches 

 are likely places to jump a buck deer in the hunting season. 



Curlleaf mountain-mahogany is perhaps the largest as well as the most typi- 

 cally treelike member of the genus. It is an aromatic, somewhat resinous 

 species of stout, spreading habit with a short trunk and somewhat contorted 

 branches, which form a rather compact, rounded crown. In the larger speci- 

 mens the lower branches have few twigs or leaves. The trunk measures 

 several inches in diameter in the shrubby forms but may become as much as 2 

 feet or so in individual specimens of maximum tree size. 



Despite the hardness of the wood, the branches are brittle and snap off when 

 submitted to strain. Dead, hanging branches that have been broken because 

 of the snow or other agencies are frequently seen. The red-brown branchlets are 

 covered at first with pale, fine hairs but soon become hairless and frequently 

 have a smooth bloom (glaucous). In their second year, they become silver 

 gray or dark brown and are marked by the conspicuous, elevated leaf scars 

 for many years. The reddish or grayish brown bark is divided by deep broad 

 furrows and broken on the surface into thin, persistent, platelike scales, which 

 are an inch in width on old trunks. The wood of this species is a clear red or 

 rich dark brown color, and strongly suggests the reddish-brown wood of true ma- 

 hogany. Curlleaf mountain-mahogany wood is dry and extremely hard; it 

 burns for a long time and produces a hot fire, thus making it, when available, 



1 Tidestrom, I. FLORA OF UTAH AND NEVADA. U. S. Natl. Mus., Contrib. U. S. Natl. 

 Herbarium 25, 665 pp., illus. 1925. 



3 Dayton, W. A. IMPORTANT WESTERN BROWSE PLANTS. U. S. Dept. Agr. Misc. Pub. 

 101, 214 pp., illus. 1931. 



