Garrya flavescens

Ashy silk tassel

Family: Garryaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Ashy silk tassel is a California native shrub found in northwestern California, Sierra Nevada, southern San Joaquin Valley, central western California, southwestern California, and Mojave Desert regions in desert slopes, chaparral, and pine/oak woodland at elevations of 650 to 2,350 meters. Flowering from February to April, this plant produces pale flowers in distinctive elongated tassel-like clusters. Growing to less than 3 meters tall with spreading branches, it forms a complex, open shrub structure. Its leaves are elliptic to obovate-elliptic, 19 to 75 millimeters long, with flat to slightly wavy margins and sparse grayish hairs that are more dense toward the leaf tips. The fruit is characterized by generally dense hairy coverings, giving the plant an ashy, textured appearance.

Habitat: Desert slopes, chaparral, pine/oak woodland

Bloom period: Feb-Apr

Elevation: 650-2350 m

Bioregions: NW, SN, SnJV, CW, SW, DMoj

California counties: San Luis Obispo, Kern, San Diego, San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange, Inyo, Fresno, Siskiyou, Mariposa, Tulare, Monterey, Nevada, Imperial, Alameda, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Placer, Colusa, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Mendocino, Trinity, Lake, San Benito, Solano, Shasta, Santa Cruz, Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Butte, Humboldt

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