Comarostaphylis diversifolia explained

Comarostaphylis diversifolia, known by the common names summer holly and California comarostaphylos, is a species of shrub in the heath family.^[1]

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 4m (13feet) 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]

See also

• California chaparral and woodlands
  • California coastal sage and chaparral

External links

• Jepson Manual Treatment: Comarostaphylis diversifolia
• USDA Plants Profile
• Comarostaphylis diversifolia — U.C. Photo gallery

Notes and References

1. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Comarostaphylis+diversifolia CalFlora Database: Comarostaphylis diversifolia
2. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Comarostaphylis+diversifolia+ssp.+diversifolia&one=T CalFlora Database: Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. diversifolia
3. http://www.calflora.org/cgi-bin/species_query.cgi?where-taxon=Comarostaphylis+diversifolia+ssp.+planifolia&one=T CalFlora Database: Comarostaphylis diversifolia ssp. planifolia