Comarostaphylis diversifolia
Species of flowering plant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Comarostaphylis diversifolia, known by the common names summer holly and California comarostaphylos, is a species of shrub in the heath family.[1]
| Comarostaphylis diversifolia | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Comarostaphylis |
| Species: | C. diversifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Comarostaphylis diversifolia | |
It is native to Southern California and northern Baja California, where it grows in coastal chaparral habitat.
Description
Comarostaphylis diversifolia is an erect shrub which can exceed 4 metres (13 ft) in height. Its bark is gray and shreddy and the tough, evergreen leaves are oval in shape and sometimes toothed.
The inflorescence is a raceme of urn-shaped flowers very similar to those of the related shrubs, the manzanitas. The fruit is a bright red, juicy drupe with a bumpy skin.
Subspecies
There are two subspecies:
- Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. diversifolia - native to the coastal hills of Southern California and Baja California.[2]
- Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. planifolia - native to the Channel Islands of California and the Transverse Ranges north of Los Angeles.[3]
