Frangula purshiana subsp. purshiana

Family: Rhamnaceae · Type: shrub · Native

California coffeeberry is a California native shrub found in northwestern California, excluding the North Coast Ranges Interior, in coastal scrub, conifer forest, and forest edges at elevations below 2,000 meters. Flowering from February to June, this plant produces small greenish flowers with delicate margins. Growing to a height of 12 meters with distinctive gray bark and reddish to brown twigs, it develops an elegant, multi-stemmed form. Its thin green leaves have rounded or heart-shaped bases, measuring 5 to 25 millimeters long, with irregular tooth margins and occasionally sparse hairs. The shrub creates a graceful, woodland understory presence with its soft-textured foliage and subtle coloration.

Habitat: Coastal scrub, conifer forest, forest edges, non-serpentine

Bloom period: Feb-Jun

Elevation: < 2000 m

Bioregions: NW (exc NCoRI)

California counties: Yuba, Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity, Del Norte, Mendocino

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