Index / Search / Cercocarpus ledifolius

§1 Plant — species · Rosaceae

Cercocarpus ledifolius Nutt.

vernacular curl-leaf mountain mahogany


USDA
CELE3
GBIF
8168453
Rank
species
curl-leaf mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus ledifolius)
Platephotograph · James BaileyCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Shrub, Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Dicot
Family
Rosaceae Juss.
Genus
Cercocarpus
§2a

Native status, by region

  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
High
Shade
Medium
Moisture use
Low
Fire
Medium
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
High
Hedging
Medium
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-47 °F minimum
Frost-free days
90 min.
Precipitation
10–45 in/yr
pH range
5.5–8.7
Root depth
20 in min.
Fertility need
Low
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Multiple Stem
Growth rate
Moderate
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
20 ft
Height @ 20 y
20 ft
Foliage texture
Coarse
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Porous
Flower colour
Yellow
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
Low
Toxicity
Slight
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Early Spring
Seed abundance
High
Seed begins
Spring
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
50,916
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
High
Graze palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Medium
Lumber
No
Fuelwood
High
Christmas tree
No

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 11 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/CELE3 ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/8168453 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z