Pittosporum crassifolium

Stiffleaf cheesewood

Family: Pittosporaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Stiffleaf cheesewood is a naturalized shrub found in the central Coast Ranges at elevations below 200 meters in disturbed areas. Flowering from November to May, this plant produces dark red to purple-black flowers approximately 1 centimeter long in terminal umbels. Growing as a small shrub or tree up to 9 meters tall with densely hairy twigs, it has a distinctive branching habit. Its leathery leaves are 4.5 to 7 centimeters long, oblong to obovate, with white undersides densely covered in hair and margins slightly turned under. The fruit is a spheric or ovoid capsule 1.5 to 3 centimeters long, covered in dense hair and typically splitting into three valves.

Habitat: Uncommon. Disturbed areas

Bloom period: Nov-May

Elevation: < 200 m

Bioregions: CCo

California counties: Santa Cruz, San Francisco, Alameda, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Contra Costa, San Mateo, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Santa Clara

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