TREATMENT FROM THE JEPSON MANUAL (1993) |
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©Copyright 1993 by the Regents of the University of California
For up-to-date information about California vascular plants, visit the Jepson eFlora. |
AND IS MAINTAINED FOR ARCHIVAL PURPOSES ONLY |
Shrub, tree, generally dioecious (rarely monoecious)
Stem: trunk < 40 m; wood soft; bark smooth, bitter; buds scaly
Leaves simple, alternate, deciduous; stipules generally deciduous, often large
Inflorescence: catkin, generally appearing before leaves; each flower subtended by disk or 12 nectary glands and 1 bract
Flower: perianth 0
Staminate flower: stamens 1many
Pistillate flower: pistil 1, ovary superior, chamber 1, stigma lobes 24
Seeds many; hairs fine, white, cottony
Fruit: capsule; valves 24
Genera in family: 2 genera, 340 species: generally temp (except Australia, Malay Archipelago) moist places; many cultivated. Hybridization common; identification often difficult. Family description, key to genera by John O. Sawyer, Jr.
Tree
Stem: trunk < 40 m; young bark smooth, pale yellow-green to gray; older bark furrowed, brown to gray; twigs with swellings below leaf scars; winter bud generally resinous, scales > 3
Leaves generally glabrous (juvenile leaves may differ from adult leaves); blade 311 cm, elliptic to triangular, veins pinnate or subpalmate, tip generally elongate
Inflorescence: catkin pendent, 38 cm; bract cut into narrow segments; flowers sessile, on a cup- or saucer-like disk
Staminate flower: stamens 860
Pistillate flower: style short, stigmas 23(4), large, scalloped to 2-lobed
Fruit spheric to conic; valves 23(4), 312 mm
Species in genus: 40 species: n hemisphere
Etymology: (Latin: name for plants of this genus)
Native |
Stem: crown wide; trunk < 30 m; twigs brown, becoming gray; winter buds finely ciliate, very resinous, fragrant when opening
Leaf: petiole 1/31/2 blade length, lower side round, upper channeled, with pair of glands at junction with blade; blade 37 cm, narrowly to widely ovate, base round to cordate, tip acute to tapered, margin finely scalloped, upper surface green, lower glaucous, often stained with brown resin
Chromosomes: 2n=38
Ecology: Scattered. Alluvial bottomlands, streamsides
Elevation: < 2800 m.
Bioregional distribution: California Floristic Province, Great Basin Floristic Province
Distribution outside California: to Alaska, n Rocky Mtns, Utah, n Baja California
Flowering time: FebApr
Synonyms: P. t. Torr. & A. Gray
Reference: [Brayshaw 1965 Canad Field-Naturalist 79:9195]
Horticultural information: IRR or WET, SUN: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24; susceptible to galls.