Garrya fremontii

Bearbrush

Family: Garryaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Bearbrush is a California native shrub found in northwestern California, Cascade Range, northern Sierra Nevada Foothills, northern and central Sierra Nevada, Sacramento Valley, San Francisco Bay Area, Peninsular Ranges, and Warner Mountains in chaparral, foothill woodland, and montane forest at elevations of 300 to 2,300 meters. Flowering from January to April, this plant produces inconspicuous flowers with pale greenish-white catkins. Growing to less than 3 meters tall with a dense, rounded form, it develops woody, branching stems. Its leaves are broadly oval, 2 to 12 centimeters long, generally flat with smooth edges and a leathery texture. The shrub forms distinctive hanging clusters of male flowers that provide winter interest in dry, rugged landscapes.

Habitat: Chaparral, foothill woodland, montane forest

Bloom period: Jan-Apr

Elevation: 300-2300 m

Bioregions: NW, CaR, n&amps SNF, n&ampc SNH, ScV, SnFrB, PR, Wrn

California counties: Sonoma, Trinity, Lake, Siskiyou, Sierra, Humboldt, Mariposa, Mendocino, San Diego, Modoc, Butte, Placer, Plumas, Santa Clara, Marin, Tuolumne, Tulare, Santa Cruz, Contra Costa, Solano, El Dorado, San Bernardino, Glenn, Napa, Nevada, Shasta, Del Norte, Monterey, Tehama, Sutter, Riverside, Orange, Alpine, Alameda, Yuba, Calaveras, Colusa, Lassen

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