2,039 bytes added
, 04:13, 4 May 2007
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Mountain-mahogany
| image = Alderleaf_Mountain_Mahogany.jpg
| image_width = 290px
| image_caption = Alderleaf Mountain-mahogany
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Rosales]]
| familia = [[Rosaceae]]
| genus = '''''Cercocarpus'''''
| genus_authority = H.B. & K.
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
''C. betuloides'' - Birchleaf Mountain-mahogany<br />
''C. breviflorus'' - Hairy Mountain-mahogany<br />
''C. intricatus'' - Littleleaf Mountain-mahogany<br />
''C. ledifolius'' - Curlleaf Mountain-mahogany<br />
''C. montanus'' - Alderleaf Mountain-mahogany<br />
''C. traskiae'' - Catalina Island Mountain-mahogany
}}
'''Mountain-mahogany''' (''Cercocarpus'') is a small genus of five or six species of [[deciduous]] [[shrub]]s or small [[tree]]s in the rose family ([[Rosaceae]]), native to the western [[United States]] and northern [[Mexico]], where they grow in semi-[[desert]] climates, often at high altitudes. They typically reach 3–6 m tall, but exceptionally up to 13 m tall.
[[Image:Curlleaf_mountain-mahogany_1.jpg|left|thumb|Curlleaf Mountain Mahogany grove, [[Toiyabe Range]], central [[Nevada]]]]
The classification of ''Cercocarpus'' within the Rosaceae is presently unclear. The genus was originally placed in the subfamily [[Rosoideae]], and later in subfamily [[Dryadeae]] along with the genera ''[[Chamaebatia]]'', ''[[Purshia]]'' and ''[[Dryas (plant)|''Dryas'']]'', all four genera sharing [[root nodule]]s that host the [[nitrogen fixation|nitrogen-fixing]] [[bacterium]] ''[[Frankia]]''. However, recent genetic research indicates that Dryadeae may be polyphyletic, with ''Dryas'' not closely related to the other three genera. <br clear = left>
==External link==
*[http://research.yale.edu/yoderlab/pdfs/2003,%20Eriksson%20et%20al,%20IJPS.pdf Phylogeny of Rosoideae (pdf file)]
{{Commons|Cercocarpus ledifolius}}
[[Category:Rosaceae]]
{{tree-stub}}
[[simple:Mountain-mahogany]]