Thanks to Monty Python, I can't say the word 'shrubbery' with out a giggle. Today's subjects are all shrubs from yesterday's drive in the woods. Some have been blooming since late January.
The Manzanita above is Arctostaphylos columbiana (Hairy Manzantia). Out of over 100 species of Arctostaphylos, this is the one species that commonly grows in the redwood forests.
And here's spectacular Rubus specabilis, the Salmonberry. The prettiest bramble, if you ask me, from the rockin' pink petals to the lines in the bright green leaves - it makes up for the thorns. The berries can be pretty good too; don't tast a bit like salmon. ;)
But the star is fancy Garrya elliptica, the Coast Silk Tassel, with its wavy leaves and designer catkins, it's a show-stopper. It's not uncommon but definitely scattered and fun to come across. The species is found in California and Oregon, mostly in the coastal counties.
The US Forest Service plant database entry has all kinds of fun stats, including this gem:
"The relish and degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for Fremont silktassel leaves
and twigs in California is rated as follows [22]:
mule deer - good
cattle - poor
horses - poor
goats - good
sheep - fair to good"
How 'bout that?
That entry was actually for its cousin, G. fremontii, but both species produce an alkaloid called Garryine that makes the plant somewhat unpalatable to some browsers. The compound lends medicinal values, too. Apparently the early settlers used it as a tonic.
The shrubs are dioecious - seed bearing and pollen bearing flowers are on separate plants. These photos don't have good detail, but you can kind of see the anthers dangling from the fused bracts.
According to the Ca. Natural History Guides' Trees and Shrubs book (2001), the tallest G. elliptica grows in Brookings, Oregon and is 8.8 m (29 ft) tall, and 23 cm (9 in) in diameter. Not bad for a shrub.
That does it for today. The rest of yesterday's flower models will be featured tomorrow...
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