Frangula californica subsp. cuspidata
Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native
California coffeeberry subspecies cuspidata is a California native shrub found in central Coast and Sierra Nevada Mountains, Tehachapi, Transverse Ranges, northwestern Peninsular Ranges, San Jacinto Mountains, eastern Sierra Nevada, and Mojave Desert in chaparral, desert scrub, and montane woodland at elevations of 400 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from April to July, this shrub produces small greenish-white flowers with distinctive red twigs. Growing to less than 2 meters tall with multiple stems, it features unique branching with twigs that have hairs of two different lengths. Its evergreen leaves are elliptic, 20 to 60 millimeters long, green on top, and white-tomentose underneath with conspicuous long hairs, featuring margins that are distinctly toothed or serrate. The shrub has a delicate appearance with thin, elliptical leaves that have a slightly mucronate tip.
Habitat: Chaparral, desert scrub, montane woodland
Bloom period: Apr-Jul
Elevation: 400-2300 m
Bioregions: c&s SN, Teh, TR, nw PR, SnJt, SNE, DMoj.
California counties: Fresno, Kern, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa, Mono, Tuolumne, Ventura
Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.