Garrya
Encyclopedia
Garrya is a genus of about 18 species of flowering plant
s in the family Garryaceae
, native to North
and Central America
and the Caribbean
. Common names include silktassel, and tassel bush.
They are evergreen
dioecious
wind-pollinated shrub
s growing to 1-5 m tall. The leaves
are arranged in opposite pairs, and are simple, leathery, dark green to gray-green, ovate, 3-15 cm long, with an entire margin and a short petiole. The flower
s are gray-green catkin
s, short and spreading when first produced in late summer; the male catkins becoming long and pendulous in late winter when shedding pollen, 3-20 cm long; the female catkins usually a little shorter and less pendulous. The fruit
is a round dry berry
containing two seed
s.
, G. elliptica 'James Roof', has catkins up to 35 cm long. The hybrids G × issaquahensis (G. elliptica × G. fremontii) and G × thuretii (G. elliptica × G. fadyenii) have been bred for garden planting.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Garryaceae
Garryaceae
Garryaceae is a small family of dicotyledons, including only two genera:*Garrya Douglas ex Lindl., 1834. About 16-18 species.*Aucuba Thunb., 1783. About 3-10 species....
, native to North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. Common names include silktassel, and tassel bush.
They are evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
dioecious
Plant sexuality
Plant sexuality covers the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom. This article describes morphological aspects of sexual reproduction of plants....
wind-pollinated shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
s growing to 1-5 m tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are arranged in opposite pairs, and are simple, leathery, dark green to gray-green, ovate, 3-15 cm long, with an entire margin and a short petiole. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are gray-green catkin
Catkin
A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollinated but sometimes insect pollinated . They contain many, usually unisexual flowers, arranged closely along a central stem which is often drooping...
s, short and spreading when first produced in late summer; the male catkins becoming long and pendulous in late winter when shedding pollen, 3-20 cm long; the female catkins usually a little shorter and less pendulous. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a round dry berry
Berry
The botanical definition of a berry is a fleshy fruit produced from a single ovary. Grapes are an example. The berry is the most common type of fleshy fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an edible pericarp. They may have one or more carpels with a thin covering and fleshy interiors....
containing two seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s.
Selected species
- Garrya buxifoliaGarrya buxifoliaGarrya buxifolia is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names dwarf silktassel and boxleaf silktassel. It is native to Oregon and northern California, where it grows in forests and chaparral, especially in the coastal mountains and hills. This is an erect shrub approaching three meters...
– Dwarf Silktassel; Oregon, California. - Garrya congdoniiGarrya congdoniiGarrya congdonii, or Congdon silktassel, a fairly common evergreen shrub native to the northern California Coast Ranges, is one of a small biological family of approximately twenty known species in the family Garryaceae, most of which are Garrya...
– Chaparral Silktassel; California. - Garrya ellipticaGarrya ellipticaGarrya elliptica is a common evergreen shrub native to the coastal ranges of California and southern Oregon, that reaches a height of two to five meters. It is one of a small biological family of approximately twenty known species in the family Garryaceae, most of which are Garrya...
– Coast Silktassel, Wavyleaf Silktassel; Oregon, California. - Garrya fadyeniiGarrya fadyeniiGarrya fadyenii is a species of flowering shrub known by the common name Fadyen's silktassel. It is native to the West Indies, specifically Jamaica, Hispaniola, and the former Cuban provinces of Oriente and Santa Clara...
– Fadyen's Silktassel; West Indies. - Garrya flavescensGarrya flavescensGarrya flavescens is a species of flowering shrub known by the common name ashy silktassel. It is native to the southwestern United States, and Baja California and Chihuahua in Mexico, where it grows in many habitats, including dry forest, desert, and chaparral. This is a shrub reaching a maximum...
– Ashy Silktassel; California east to Utah and New Mexico. - Garrya fremontiiGarrya fremontiiGarrya fremontii is a species of flowering shrub known by several common names, including California fever bush, bearbrush, and Frémont's silktassel. Both the latter name, and the plant's specific epithet are derived from John C. Frémont...
– Bearbrush Silktassel; Washington, Oregon, California. - Garrya laurifolia – Laurelleaf Silktassel; Mexico south to Panama.
- Garrya ovata – Eggleaf Silktassel; New Mexico, Texas.
- Garrya salicifolia – Willowleaf Silktassel; Baja California.
- Garrya veatchiiGarrya veatchiiGarrya veatchii is a species of flowering shrub known by the common names canyon silktassel and Veatch silktassel. It is native to the chaparral hills of southern California and Baja California. This is a small treelike or bushy shrub reaching maximum heights near two meters...
– Canyon Silktassel; California. - Garrya wrightii – Wright's Silktassel; Arizona, New Mexico, Texas.
Cultivation and uses
Some species, notably Garrya elliptica, are widely cultivated in gardens for their foliage and the catkins produced in late winter. Male plants are more widely grown, as their catkins are longer and more attractive; one such cultivarCultivar
A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
, G. elliptica 'James Roof', has catkins up to 35 cm long. The hybrids G × issaquahensis (G. elliptica × G. fremontii) and G × thuretii (G. elliptica × G. fadyenii) have been bred for garden planting.