ID Shrub in Northern Calif
- Subject: ID Shrub in Northern Calif
- From: C* N*
- Date: 9 Jul 2002 17:12:10 -0000
I don't have much to go on and I didn't take a picture, but maybe someone
will know what I'm talking about.
I don't believe I've seen this plant before, though it is quite ornamental
and would be lovely in a planned garden. It is at the bottom of some hills
just west of Sebastopol and Forestville which are in Sonoma County,
California. This county is about 60 miles north of San Francisco and
coastal. Sunset zone 15. The property is filled with redwoods, escaped
lemon balm and an oregano-like herb, and moss in the shade. There is a
creek. I'm considering buying this property and it's really quite
beautiful.
The plant in question is a large bush, 5-8 feet high and almost equally
round. It has an open airy feeling yet is not transparent.
The leaves are dull green with a slight rough fuzzy feeling to them, though
that is not visible to the eye. The leaves are tapered, 1.5 inches at
their widest (1 inch = 2.5 cm), which is in the lower 1/3 of the leaf, and
about 3.5 inches long. They are thin and smooth-edged.
The leaves are opposite in pairs on the greenish-brown stem. There is a
vein that runs up the middle and then side veins that come off of the main
one but are random to each other.
The end of the stem has two leaves and, inbetween them, 3 flowers (one
full, two buds). The flowers are striking. About 1 inch across with red
petals in a whorl. They are bent and twisted around the center. Very
pretty.
It is possible this is not a native plant but I suspect it is. It's in a
deer area but doesn't appear eaten. Any ideas?
It looks somewhat similar to Red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa) (from:
http://www.bahiker.com/plantpages/nativetrees.html - picture:
http://www.bahiker.com/pictures/southbay/purisima/060700/small/001elderberry.jpg )
but there are too many leaves at the ends.
The leaves are similar to salal
<http://www.bahiker.com/pictures/southbay/bigbasin/buzzardsroost/080700/websize/089salal.jpg>
but the positioning is wrong (not opposite). And the flowers are wrong <http://www.bahiker.com/pictures/northbay/tomalesbay/small/033salal2.jpg>.
It looks somewhat like cotoneaster
<http://www.bahiker.com/pictures/eastbay/redwood/020400/websize/66cotoneaster02.04.00.jpg>
but the photo shows berries, not flowers. In other descriptions of
flowers, they are wrong.
Could it be a manzanita? <http://www.bahiker.com/pictures/southbay/lahonda/small/081manz.jpg>
Thanks for any help.
Cyndi
_______________________________________________________________________________
Oakland, California Zone 9 USDA; Zone 16 Sunset Western Garden Guide
Chemically sensitive/disabled - Organic Gardening only by choice and neccessity
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"There's nothing wrong with me. Maybe there's Cyndi Norman
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