Tetracoccus ilicifolius

Holly-leaved tetracoccus

Family: Picrodendraceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 1B.3

Holly-leaved tetracoccus is a rare (CNPS 1B.3) California native shrub found in the northern Desert Mountains, specifically in the Grapevine and Panamint Mountain ranges, on dry, rocky slopes at elevations of 600 to 1,700 meters. Flowering from May to June, this plant produces small white to cream flowers in dense clusters with delicate, almost sessile blooms. Growing with slender, sparsely brown-tomentose twigs that become glabrous with age, it forms a compact shrub reaching moderate heights. Its leaves are generally opposite or three-whorled, with lanceolate to ovate blades 15 to 30 millimeters long, featuring 8 to 20 sharp teeth along the margins and obtuse to acute tips. The fruit is a brown-tomentose capsule approximately 8 to 9 millimeters long with distinctive tomentose texture.

Habitat: Dry, rocky slopes

Bloom period: May-Jun

Elevation: 600-1700 m

Bioregions: n DMtns (Grapevine Mtns, Panamint Range).

California counties: Inyo

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