Frangula californica subsp. ursina

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Bear Valley coffee berry is a California native shrub found in the southeastern desert mountains including Clark, New York, and Providence Mountains in desert scrub and woodland at elevations of 1,000 to 2,100 meters. Flowering from May to July, this plant produces small green flowers with subtle white margins. Growing to less than 2 meters tall with gray, soft-textured twigs, it forms a compact and dense shrubby structure. Its elliptic to ovate leaves are 30 to 85 millimeters long, green on the upper surface and pale green underneath, with edges that can be smooth or lightly toothed. The leaves have an acute to rounded tip and vary between being completely smooth or having minimal fine hairs.

Habitat: Desert scrub, woodland

Bloom period: May-Jul

Elevation: 1000-2100 m

Bioregions: SnBr, DMtns (Clark, New York, Providence mtns)

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.