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. fremontii Torr.

Shrub < 3 m
Leaf 21–120 mm, 11–70 mm wide, 1.3–2.4 X longer than wide, generally flat, ovate- to obovate-elliptic; margin flat; lower surface hairs 0, rarely sparse, straight to ± wavy, appressed toward leaf tip on young leaves
Fruit: hairs 0 (sometimes sparse near tip)
Ecology: Chaparral, foothill woodland, montane forest
Elevation: 300–2300 m.
Bioregional distribution: Northwestern California, Cascade Range, n Sierra Nevada Foothills, n&c High Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Peninsular Ranges, Warner Mountains
Distribution outside California: to Washington, w Nevada
Horticultural information: DRN: 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17 &IRR: 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 22, 23 &SHD: 9, 18, 19, 20, 21.