GARRYACEAE

SILK TASSEL FAMILY

Thomas F. Daniel

Shrub, small tree, dioecious
Leaves simple, opposite, evergreen, petioled; blade ± leathery, flat to concave-convex, margin entire, flat, rolled under, or strongly wavy
Inflorescence catkin-like, pendent; flowers small, in axils of opposite, 4-ranked, basally fused bracts
Staminate flowers (1–)3(4) per bract, pedicelled; perianth parts 4, generally fused at tips; stamens 4, alternate perianth parts, filaments free, anthers 2-chambered
Pistillate flowers (1–)3 per bract; pedicel ± 0 or short; perianth 0 or vestigial with 2 small appendages; ovary inferior, chamber 1, styles 2(3)
Fruit: berry, spheric to ovoid, green, fleshy, becoming dark blue, black, or whitish gray, dry, brittle, not or irregularly dehiscent
Seeds generally 2
Genera in family: 1 genus, 14 species: w US, C.Am, Caribbean; some cultivated
Reference: [Dahling 1978 Contr Gray Herb 209:1–104]

GARRYA

SILK TASSEL BUSH

Etymology: (N. Garry, 1st secretary of Hudson Bay Co., friend of David Douglas, 1782?–1856)
Intergradation among CA species suggests some may be unworthy of that status.

Native

G. buxifolia A. Gray

Shrub < 3 m
Leaf 14–66 mm, 9–33 mm wide, 1.3–2.3 X longer than wide, flat to ± concave-convex, ovate- to obovate-elliptic; margin flat; lower surface hairs generally dense, straight to slightly curved, appressed toward leaf tip
Fruit glabrous or sparsely hairy near tip
Ecology: Chaparral to yellow-pine forest
Elevation: 150–2100 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California
Distribution outside California: w Oregon
Horticultural information: DRN, IRR: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19; DFCLT.