SIMAROUBACEAE

QUASSIA or SIMAROUBA FAMILY

Elizabeth McClintock

Shrub, tree, generally dioecious
Stem often thorny; bark often bitter
Leaves generally alternate, simple, entire, or pinnately compound with subentire leaflets
Inflorescence: panicle, raceme, or flowers solitary
Flower inconspicuous; sepals generally 5, generally fused at base, generally erect; petals generally 5, free, generally spreading; stamens generally 10–15, generally inserted on a disk, filaments often with a basal scale; pistils generally 2–5, ovaries superior, 1-ovuled (if pistil 1, chambers generally 2–5, 1-ovuled), styles free or partly fused
Fruit: winged achene, drupe, berry, or capsule
Genera in family: ± 25 genera, ± 150 species: tropical, warm temp; some cultivated
Reference: [Brizicky 1962 J Arnold Arbor 43:173–186]
Bark, leaves used in medicine.

CASTELA

Shrub or small tree, appearing ± leafless, dioecious; thorns large, branched
Leaf simple, sometimes scale-like
Flower: calyx lobes 4–8; petals 4–8; stamens 8–24; ovaries 4–8, adherent near middle, style bases fused, tips spreading
Fruit: drupe, dry, 4–8 per flower, spreading
Species in genus: ± 15 species: sw & s-c US, to South America
Etymology: (René R.L. Castel, French botanist, poet, editor, opera librettist, 1759–1832)
Reference: [Moran & Felger 1968 Trans San Diego Soc Nat Hist 15:31–40]

Native

C. emoryi (A. Gray) Moran & Felger

CRUCIFIXION THORN

Plant generally < 1 m, intricately branched; young parts densely puberulent
Leaf scale-like, entire, ephemeral and rarely seen
Inflorescence: panicle, much-branched, 2.5–5 cm, stiff
Flower 6–8 mm diam
Fruit ± 6 mm, flat-topped; base ± rounded, sometimes persisting several years
Seed 1
Ecology: Dry, gravelly washes, slopes, plains
Elevation: ± 650 m.
Bioregional distribution: Desert
Distribution outside California: Arizona, nw Mexico
Flowering time: Jun–Jul
Synonyms: Holacantha e. A. Gray
Two other desert plants have same common name.